Life's Lesson
by mpg
Summary: Just when Bella and Edward had their happy ever after, circumstances forced them apart. Can the two lovers find each other again. And will they be able to deal with the dark consequences if they do. Sequel Teachers Pet & Student Liaison M for adult themes
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

_A/N: I own nothing. Characters are all Stephenie Meyers' creations, I'm just torturing them. Thanks to my lovely beta (FE71SH) for looking this chap over for me. Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it!_

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- BPOV -

_Edward stalked in front of me. The smell of the mountain lion's blood was carrying towards us on the wind._

You look so sexy doing that,_ I told him mentally. _

_He waved his hand at me behind his back trying to silently let me know that I was cheating. Which was true. I'd brought down my lion in sixty-five seconds. He was trying to beat that time, and I was trying to distract him so I could win. Although we still hadn't decided exactly what the winner would receive. This wasn't the first time we'd had this exact same contest. Half the time he won, half the time I did. _

_He crouched deeper into his hunting stance and then launched himself towards the lion, taking it down in one smooth, swift motion. To anyone with lesser eyesight he would have just been a blur, but I could see the smallest twitch of every defined muscle along the length of his torso and down the back of his lean legs, even underneath the clothes he was wearing. _

_He turned back towards me, with a wide grin on his face, and just a tiny hint of blood on his lips. Other than that tiny drop of red, it would have been natural to assume he was just taking a leisurely stroll through the forest. _

_"I'm calling that one mine, considering the distractions I had to contend with," he murmured to me as he clutched a loose strand of my hair and tucked it behind my ears. _

_"One comment is hardly distractions," I replied. I put my mouth close to his and licked the remaining smear of blood off with my tongue. _

_"No, but the constant thoughts around that comment definitely were." His hands ghosted down my sides, barely touching me but it was enough to send shivers of pleasure coursing around my entire body. _

_He reached his arms around my waist and brought his lips to mine. His tongue caressed mine and I existed in my past sense for that glorious moment. Remembering the taste of his lips, the texture of his tongue. Grasping hold of every precious detail I could._

_His hands trailed down to my back and his fingers slipped into the waistband of my jeans. _

I felt myself shifting back even though I didn't want to. I wasn't ready yet. My ability to control my power had diminished greatly over the last 12 months. I concentrated hard and managed to shift into another past, rather than return to my present. I was surprised to realise it was a past from when I was still human.

_I watched as my human self walked through the door. Edward pushed the door shut behind her. She didn't turn to look at him, instead taking in the view of the makeshift field of flowers Edward had set up. _

_I watched as her eyes widened in surprise at the view in front of her, listened as her heart began to thump excitedly. I was jealous of her for this moment shared with Edward. She had his undivided attention. I could tell by the set of his jaw and the pitch of his breathing he was nervous and I knew why. He was about to propose to her. I couldn't think of her as me anymore. She suffered too much during her life, and yet for all of that she had things I didn't. Opportunities lost to me now. That was another life, a different time, and I could never claim it back. _

_Edward walked up behind her. "They're all the different types of flowers from our meadow. Had I been smart enough to not leave you. That's where I would have done this."_

_"Done what?" she asked, turning on the spot to face the door. _

_Edward circled around the other way, laughing, and knelt in behind her, waiting for her to spin back around. He held up a box which I knew contained a ring, his mother's ring. My hand raised instinctively to my neck. My fingers trailed down the chain that resided there, my fingers enclosing the ring there. It remained a permanent reminder of our love. _

_I couldn't watch anymore. I was here to escape what was happening in my present but this was too much._

I shifted back to present and found myself lying in a bed. I stared at the yellowing ceiling above me, hating how much it reminded me of that time. Of her and her ability to die to get away from the pain of lost love or to chose to move on with imperfect human memory. I scowled at the ceiling. I turned my head to the side but all I saw there were the holes I had punched through the plasterboard. I sighed. I knew I should do some repairs to this house, my father's old house, it was in desperate need of some TLC and my constant abuse when I grew frustrated only caused further damage.

Now that I was back in my own body I noticed how much my throat burned. I quickly realised I'd been living in my fantasy world, in my past, for three days. I would need to hunt soon, I was too close to civilization to risk waiting too much longer. I sighed because the simple act of hunting, which Edward and I used to share, held no joy for me anymore. I derived no pleasure from it, or from anything. I had no one to share my life with anymore.

I was bitterly reminded, once again, of all I had lost. I grabbed the pillow under my head and threw it across the room. It burst into a cloud of feathers when it hit the wall. I cursed at myself. I needed to take better care of my things. I didn't have limitless funds anymore. Edward's ring and the house were the only things I had left in the world.

Everything else was gone.

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- EPOV -

Something was missing from my life.

Something intangible – a vague notion of lost love. I had never experienced love, never found anyone who had turned my eye that way, but somehow I still missed it. I longed for it with every fibre of my being. I desired a love which was beautiful and transcendent. A love which would last the ages and never be broken.

The absence was most prevalent in the still of the night, when the darkness was full. When the night sky was black and the moon refused to shine. Because that was when I saw her – my light. It was as though a bright star had streaked across the night sky and now I was left with the void. The blackness. And how I craved the light. My heart longed for something I had never had and therefore shouldn't miss.

During those times I would find myself staring at the ceiling and dreaming of chocolate eyes. Of course I wasn't really dreaming, I couldn't sleep, so I didn't dream.

I often thought that maybe, just maybe, if I could dream I would see more of the one I had never met but would die for. It was maddening and heartbreaking to lie dreaming of love I had never experienced, while my family pursued their own nocturnal activities. I was always left feeling more alone that I ever had before. It was as though part of me had been torn away, like my heart resided with another. I could pinpoint the moment in my life these feelings began. For ninety years I wandered with my family, content within myself and then suddenly I changed. For no reason I could find I suddenly felt like part of me had been torn away. I had talked to Carlisle about it but he had no explanation. Change was rare for us. Rare but permanent. I would live forever dreaming of those chocolate pools of knowledge. I spent the time sifting through my darkened memories, trying to find some hint, some glimpse of the girl, anything that would help me figure out the mystery. Anything to prove she was something more than a figment of my imagination. But I always came up blank. There was nothing.

She was the love of my life and I didn't even know if she was real.

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A/N:- Welcome to Life's Lesson - a simultaneous sequel to Teacher's Pet & Student Liaison. Go read at least one of those first if you haven't because this story will make little sense without the knowing the basics of Bella's power as set-up in that story (TP is BPOV - SL is EPOV).

**I am not sure how soon I will be able to update but I will be getting Chapter 1 up as soon as is humanly possible around my other RL stuff :)**


	2. Chapter 1: Family

**Chapter 1: Family**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

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_– Thirteen Months Earlier _–

– EPOV –

I picked Bella up and twirled her in my arms. She giggled as we spun in a loose circle.

"I love you," I whispered against her hair as I slid her body back down along mine to place her feet on the ground.

She smiled widely at me. _I know_.

I stared at her and got lost in her butterscotch eyes, before bringing my fingers into her hair and guiding her face towards mine. My lips hit hers with an electric zing and my tongue crept forward, not bothering to wait for permission for entrance into her mouth – she was already ready and waiting to receive it. I closed my eyes as the kiss created a fire deep in the pit of my stomach. I kept Bella cradled off the ground against me; her body bent into mine so that we had maximum contact, her hands caressed my hair.

_Oh, get a room!_ Jacobs's thoughts disrupted the perfect moment. I growled against Bella's mouth, upset at the interruption, but Bella just giggled – no doubt guessing _what_ had caused my growl even if she wasn't sure _who_.

"Ew, Aunt Bewwa that's icky." Max screwed his nose up at us. I laughed and looked around at our extended family. Everyone was smiling and talking casually, helping Jacob and Harriett to pack up the car. We probably should have been sad – Jacob was taking his family home today, and Cain left with his a week ago, but it was hard to feel sad with so much love around.

I bent down and picked Max up. "One day – you'll find a girl that you'll want to do that to."

Max shook his head fervently. "No! Girls are yuck." He stuck his tongue out to demonstrate the point.

"Don't go telling your mother that," Bella whispered to him.

"Silly, Bewwa, Mommy isn't a girl!"

Bella and I laughed, but I felt a tinge of sadness wishing, not for the first time, that I could give Bella a family of her own. Every year we went through this same routine, holding onto the love and joy as long as possible, and every year their departure was followed by a melancholy month for my family.

I put Max down as soon as he started to squirm in my arms – at such a young age it was hard to ignore the natural aversion his kind had for my kind. Luckily, Sue had shown no indication that she was going to change – she never complained about Bella's smell – which was definitely a good thing. Bella was her favourite Aunt after all.

It was another half an hour before the melancholy mood finally settled over everyone. It was about the same time that Jacob and Harriett were strapping Max and Sue into their car seats.

One more round of hugs and they were gone for another year.

I held Bella's hand as we meandered through the forest. Technically, we were hunting but neither of us felt a strong compulsion to feed. We were here simply because we felt the need to be alone, to get away from the oppressive sadness that leeched into the family at this time of the year.

Bella suddenly perked up a little and I realised why shortly after. Two mountain lions were hunting nearby. I knew what that meant. She turned her body around in front of me, hooking her fingers into the waistband of my jeans and smiled at me. _How do you feel about a little contest?_

I smiled. "You should know I'm always up for a little friendly competition."

_Good._ She darted off – running at full speed. I counted the seconds as I watched her rush through the underbrush. I had just reached sixty-five when she returned with not a hair out of place. Her skin was flushed slightly from the fresh supply of blood and shimmered slightly in the low light. Her eyes were a meld of golds and browns and butterscotch. She was everything I had ever desired.

_Sixty-five._ She gloated, triumphantly. _Beat that._

"Hardly a challenge," I whispered low and fast. Even if the remaining lion had been paying attention to us it wouldn't have been aware of my speech. "Go," I said, telling her to start counting – but counting for myself as well.

I turned away from Bella, stalking towards my pray.

_You look so sexy doing that. _

I waved my hand at her behind my back. She had her shield down so I was being inundated with every thought she was having – but the pictures that she was concentrating on were too much. I sank deeper into my crouch, then I launched towards the lion and took it down swiftly. I drained it as quickly as I could and turned back towards Bella. Sixty-seven seconds. But I had distractions to contend with.

I closed the distance between Bella and I, our despondency was erased by our little competition. Instead of sorrow, we felt need. I tucked a loose strand of Bella's hair behind her ear. "I'm calling that one mine, considering the distractions I had to contend with," I murmured to her.

"One comment is hardly _distractions_," she replied in her perfect, bell-like voice. It was a sound I could never get sick of, and a sound I would recognise anywhere. She put her mouth close to mine and licked a trail along the edge of my lip. I could smell the scent of blood mixed with her venom and it was overpowering.

"No, but the constant thoughts around that comment definitely were," I said as I ghosted my hands down her sides. I barely contacted her skin but she shivered beneath my touch and issued a small purr of contentment and desire.

I clasped at her waist, pressing my mouth forward against hers. She tasted like perfection. I loved the subtle changes that took place in her body after feeding. It made me desire her even more – if that were possible. My hands ran involuntarily along her back, my fingers slipping into the waistband of her jeans. I wanted to get her naked - and soon.

_Uh-uh, not this time_, she thought to me. _You first. _

I laughed, but complied. I dropped my hands off her body and took two steps back, unbuttoning my shirt as I went. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in my slowly revealed form. I pulled my shirt the rest of the way off before I reached for the button on my pants. I stopped. "Or did you want to do that?" I quirked my eyebrow at her.

Instantly she was on me, hands tugging at buttons and zippers. Her mouth met mine and we tasted each other greedily. My hands went into her hair as she grasped hold of my erection. I groaned into her mouth and she moaned back in response. My hands trailed along her back again and fumbled quickly with her jeans, pushing them off to gain access. We both had an animalistic desire to fulfil. As soon as she was free of her clothing she wrapped her legs around my waist and I pushed myself into her. I held her up with one arm under her bottom, while the other explored her body. It always felt new and exciting to touch her – the electricity between us hadn't died in all the years we'd been together.

I carried her a few steps until she was pressed hard against a tree. I used the resistance to grind harder into her, each thrust earning a new groan, each withdrawal a gasp. She raked her fingers through the bark of the tree, leaving deep gashes in the trunk. As her climax hit, she threw her arms around my neck and pulled my face into hers even harder, grunting her pleasure into my mouth in short staccato bursts.

I ground against her a few more times to find my own release before we slumped together, still pressed against the tree.

"You are mine, Bella," I whispered against her neck. "Forever."

She looked deep into my eyes. "Forever."

We pulled apart and then dressed each other slowly, reverently, before heading back to the house – completely forgetting the reason we had left in the first place. The slight flush that coloured our cheeks supported our 'hunting' excuse so no one questioned the disarrayed state of our clothes. Then again in our family, we could turn up with no clothes and barely an eyebrow would be batted. Except maybe from Emmett – we could always trust Emmett to raise the subject of sex. But the mood was still down when we entered the house. In fact, it was worse. Alice was blocking me, reciting all of Shakespeare's sonnets word for word repeatedly and Jasper was concerned about a vision Alice had had. Apparently it had stalled her in her tracks and she refused to share the details with him.

"What was it Alice? What happened?" I asked.

Bella looked to me and then to Alice.

"Just a vision I need to talk to Bella about. Alone."

I turned to Bella, a small nod from her and a confirmation in her thoughts told me we were one. "Anything you need to share with Bella can be shared with me."

Alice looked between Bella and I. Her thoughts, and Jasper's, indicated her desire to be alone with Bella. Apparently she was too anxious to talk to me. "Fine," I said. "If you must talk to Bella alone – do it."

Alice pulled Bella from the house, but I could tell something was wrong. There was no excitement in her movements. Whatever the vision was had sent Alice plummeting to the pits of despair. And in that second I guessed what it must have been. I was an idiot for not seeing it sooner. Renee had been sickly lately; maybe Alice had seen her death. I stood at the back door to the house, waiting for Bella to return – knowing she would need my support when she did.

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I was standing by the back door waiting for... something. I had been waiting for a while – a few hours maybe. I scanned through my memory, trying to find what was missing – my memories were patchy and strange, with great stretches of absent time. It concerned me greatly as I had never had a problem with my memory before, or at least I didn't think I had. I looked around the house and did a quick head count. Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper where all inside the house. That only left Alice missing. I took a step outside the door and was assaulted with the scent of an unknown vampire. My senses where on edge – it was the single-most pleasing scent I'd ever had the pleasure of smelling, but it was everywhere. I was concerned that a vampire could get that close to the house without any of us noticing. I worried for my family – foremost for Alice. Then I realised the scent wasn't just over the house. It was over me. My clothes were saturated in the scent of this unknown vampire. One by one, the minds of my family grew troubled by the scent too – and with Alice's absence. Everyone was tense and on edge as a growing unease swept across the house.

"Jasper," I whispered low and fast. "Where's Alice?"

His anxiety skyrocketed. _Can't you hear her thoughts?_

I shook my head. If I had been human, my heart would have been pounding – as it was venom pooled thickly in my mouth. I was glad I had hunted recently, meaning my strength would be at its peak - although the memory of my hunting trip was one of those that I had patchy recollection of. In fact every memory of the past thirty years seemed dulled and muted. If I thought hard I could find memories of my family, but there seemed to be something missing from them. Every muscle in my body was wound tight with tension as I tried to piece together what had happened. I decided whatever it was it had to do with Alice's absence.

"Emmett, Jasper – we're going hunting."

The three of us quickly picked up Alice's scent intermixed with the unknown vampire. I didn't care how good that scent was – if Alice was hurt in anyway, there would be hell to pay.

We had gone a mile out from the house when the scent of the unfamiliar vampire doubled back on itself and headed off in another direction. I glanced that way – debating whether or not to follow. I saw a flash of long brown hair and a feminine form leaning against a tree in the far distance. I wanted to chase her down, but in the end the call of Alice's scent, of family, was too strong to resist. I needed to know if she was alright before I decided what action to take against the strange female vampire who had been around our house.

Emmett, Jasper and I, found Alice leaning against a tree. Her face and thoughts were full of grief but for reasons unknown. Her thoughts were chaotic, shifting and changing. Almost as if they were a story that was being rewritten as I read.

"No, Bella!" Alice screamed, launching herself in the direction that the other vampire had fled. Jasper's arms came around Alice's waist, holding her in place.

"Who's Bella?" I asked. Something stirred deep inside me, some distant unconscious thought. But after running through every one of my memories I came up blank. The name Bella meant nothing to me.

"What?" Alice asked.

"You just screamed for Bella? Who's that?"

"I..." – her mind sung out in confusion – "I don't know."

"Are you hurt?" Jasper asked, pulling her body into his. She shook her head against him. I watched their shared love and envied their closeness. Sometimes, it was hard being the only unpaired one. It felt strange, the envy, it had never been something that affected me before. But now it felt like my lips burned in remembrance of passionate kisses, my arms longed to wrap around a familiar body and my body yearned for warm fingers launching long and detailed explorations. My body betrayed me with these memories – because none of those things ever happened to me.

The four of us walked back towards the house. As we passed the spot where the strange, but alluring, scent branched off I looked down there. I wondered whether we should investigate the mystery of the female vampire. But she'd obviously not harmed Alice, so maybe she had just been curious about our lifestyle. She wouldn't be the first, and she probably wouldn't be the last.

Just as we were about to re-enter the house Alice had a vision, and I watched it pass.

"What is it?" Jasper asked, readying himself to turn back for the hunt – assuming that the female was the problem. I shook my head.

"The Volturi are coming," Alice and I said in near perfect unison.

_It's strange, _Alice thought to herself. _It's almost like I've had that vision before – but different._

"How was it different?" I asked, pulling her aside.

_I don't know._

As the rest of them headed back inside, I stood on the back porch drinking deeply of the captivating scent of the female. I debated going after her. There was something calling me to her – like a siren song. I sighed before turning and heading back into the house. If the female was going to be a problem, Alice and I would know.

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A/N:- So....*hides away waiting for the hate to begin*

**Thank you for everyone that is sticking with this story despite the bust up. There is a reason & just a reminder... I am primarily a HEA girl :) **


	3. Chapter 2: Loss

**Chapter 2: Loss **

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

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– BPOV –

"What was it Alice? What happened?" Edward asked. His words, and the look on Alice's face set me on edge.

"Just a vision I need to talk to Bella about. Alone." Alice replied, glancing at me.

Edward turned to look at me. I nodded. _We're in this together, forever. I'm happy for you to know._

"Anything you need to share with Bella can be shared with me."

Alice looked between Edward and I.

Edward seemed to consider something in her thoughts for a while. Finally, he said, "Fine, if you must talk to Bella alone – do it."

Alice pulled me from the house. Her whole body was rigid with tension as she dragged me away from our family. As soon as we were far enough away from the house that supernatural ears wouldn't overhear us she turned to me. "Shield me, Bella. I don't want Edward to see this, at least... not yet."

"You do realise I will share with him anyway?" I asked.

She sighed. "Yes, just like I will tell Jasper. But we need to work out the course of action we are going to take first. See... it effects you more than anyone."

My thoughts went to Renee. I wondered if something was wrong with her – I knew she'd been ill lately, but was Alice going to tell me that the end was near for her. Stress threatened to freeze me in place, but I pushed through it and followed her as she dragged me even further from the house. We had gone a number of miles before she finally spun on me and stopped.

"The Volturi are coming," Alice whispered.

"Oh my god," I whispered. In theory we had little to fear from them – Cain was under Jacob's protection and Jacob had a pack of wolves on his side. The Volturi wouldn't attempt to harm them. Our family had technically broken no laws. But we had known for the last twenty years that should they ever become aware of my power the consequences would be dire. We'd thought of launching a pre-emptive strike so often, going to see them and introduce me as Edward's wife so they wouldn't come and strike us unprepared. But each time we decided to do that we saw the consequences. So I could understand the concern that was plastered on Alice's face.

"Just use your shield and watch." Alice held my hand as I pushed my shield out towards her. We had learned about fifteen years ago that I could relive Alice's visions through her memory of them. I couldn't shift into them, the way I could real memories, but I could watch and replay them in my own mind.

_The Volturi stalked up to the door, the menace they possessed evident in their movements. A general feeling of unease settled on our family, even though we had no _real _reason for fear. They claimed to be here simply to visit a friend and his family. _

_"Carlise, old friend," Aro said, holding out his hand in invitation. All of us knew the implications of that small move. To accept was to show Aro every thought that had passed through your mind. To refuse was to die. _

_Carlisle extended his hand. The instant they met Aro's eyes shot to me, then to Alice, and finally to Edward. For less than a fraction of a second Aro's face burned with unbridled desire. He stifled it as quickly as he was able but one look at Edward's scowl confirmed what I suspected on seeing that look – Aro knew our talents. Carlisle knew the theory behind each of our talents perhaps as well as we each did. I could almost see Aro piecing it together. With the three of us he would have omnipotence – be able to see and control the past, present and future. I don't know what happened next but Edward suddenly launched himself across the short space, teeth bared – aiming for Aro's neck. A little blonde vampire who was standing next to Aro smiled at Edward. He fell to the floor screaming in agony. What happened next could only be called chaos. As my family took in Edward's pained cries they retaliated, each attacking a different member of the Volturi clan until a mist enveloped them all. Their shouts of rage became cries of panic. Aro froze when he saw I stood unaffected. _

_"Come now, and I will spare your family," he said in a quiet voice. _

_"On what grounds do you attack them?" I asked._

_"They have broken the law – a human knows about us." _

_Cain._

_"But if you come with us, we shall allow them to live as long as the threat is contained."_

_I shook my head. "I'm not leaving them."_

_"As you wish." He shrugged, and before I could even speak again my family were destroyed. Torn apart and burned as they stood helpless. Only Alice and Edward remained. Edward still screamed, the sound tore at me and froze me in place as effectively as the mist had stilled the rest of my family. _

_"No!" I screamed finally. I knew I couldn't make a decision that lead to my family being killed. _

I came back to the present as a new vision hit Alice. Her face twisted in horror as it played out and she shook her head slightly as I indicated I wanted to see.

"Please Alice? Obviously something I decided changed it. Maybe we can fix it still?"

She nodded.

I pulled up the memory. It started the same as the previous one – Aro extending his hand to Carlisle. Carlisle accepting the hand, and inadvertently showing Aro our talents. Edward falling to the ground screaming.

_"Come now, and I will spare your family."_

_I nodded once. If my leaving with the Volturi saved the rest of my family – I was willing to make that sacrifice. On one condition. "But only if Edward comes too."_

_I looked to Edward, imploring him to agree. _Please, it is for our family, _I begged_. _He nodded once. _

_The future jumped ahead. We trailed through the halls of the Volturi castle, Edward's hand in mine, our eyes blazing crimson. Chelsea – the vampire responsible for the bonds that tied the guard together was stalking behind us. I turned into a room, to perform my duties, and Chelsea took advantage. By the time I finished in the room Edward was no longer mine. He was kissing Chelsea with all the love and devotion he used to give to me. _

_My cold, dead heart broke._

Another vision hit Alice. Another twist based on what I decided after seeing Edward in the arms of another.

_We stalked through the corridors of the Volturi castle. Edward and I walked hand in hand into the room so that I was able to perform my duties. I did what was asked of me. I returned to the present, Edward's arms were wrapped tightly around me but the world had changed. The sky outside was a ruddy-brown. The waters ran black. Pollution and grime covered every surface. The humans that were brought in for us to feast off were deformed and deranged. Obviously I had changed something that should have been left alone. I couldn't undo it – I knew that once I'd changed the past I became part of the events, I couldn't change it again. _

I couldn't do it. I couldn't allow the Volturi to use my power for their own twisted game. I needed to stop them before Edward and I were forced to leave with them. I decided Edward and I would leave. We would return after the Volturi visit.

_Carlisle couldn't answer Aro's demands to know where Edward and I were. His demands turned to accusations. Claims of treason were levelled against each member of the family. Those who fought – died. Those who didn't – died. _

Alice was clutching onto me as she experienced the visions twice. Once in her mind, and again as a memory. We watched together as vision after vision, choice after choice, resulted in two things. Death and destruction. In almost every future at least one of my family was hurt or killed – all because of Aro's lust for my talent. Alice could forsee the future – she couldn't directly impact it. I could step back in time and start chains of events which changed... everything.

_They'd be better off without me_, I thought. Alice gave a small sob as another vision overwhelmed her. I pulled it up as soon as I could.

_Carlisle extended his hand to touch Aro's outstretched fingers. Aro's eyes flickered between Edward and Alice. Edward smiled a little, but then shook his head. "Sorry, Alice and I will remain with our family." _

_Aro looked between them wistfully, but then he simply sighed. "If you ever change your mind we would welcome you with open arms. Perhaps you could learn to appreciate the finer things in life."_

_The look of disgust on Edward's face told me Aro was talking about human blood. "I don't think so."_

_Aro shrugged. "I heard rumours that young Edward had found himself a beautiful bride. I guess those rumours were unfounded."_

_Edward's brow furrowed as he considered Aro's words and thoughts. _

_Emmett broke the silence and tension. "My brother? The terminal bachelor – a wife." He laughed. _

In the vision it was evident that my family didn't know me. I wasn't there... and they were safe. They were in fact better off without me.

"But why weren't you there?" Alice asked. I knew the answer, and it twisted like a knife in my stomach. I shook my head as I processed the implications. There was only one thing that could have caused my family to forget me like that – me.

"Bella?" Alice asked. I stepped back out of her arms. I tried hastily to think about what I needed to do.

"How soon, Alice?"

"What?"

"How soon before _they_ come."

"Two weeks."

Two weeks. I wondered if I could do it. If I removed all traces of myself from their memories they would be safe from the Volturi. We all would be. Then after the visit I could return and give back the memories. I wouldn't be _changing_ the past. It would be able to be fixed. That was what decided it for me. Two short weeks without Edward out of the rest of our lives was nothing. I needed to do this – for them. I closed my eyes and pushed my shield as far as I could. Further than I ever had. I continued to push until I felt each of my family under it. I felt exhausted by the effort and I hadn't even shifted yet. I pulled up a recent memory, concentrating hard on selecting the right one with the influence of so many minds under my shield. I felt Alice's hands close around my wrists just before I shifted back into my memory.

_I watched as I ran past, Alice dragging me the whole way. Edward stood by the back door watching us, a look of concern on his face. Concern for me. The rest of his family milled in the living area. _

_I stood in front of Edward, drinking in all of his features. I needed to get each detail firm in my memory so that it could sustain me through the dark patch that was sure to come. _

Two weeks_, I reminded myself. _

_"I'm sorry," I whispered to Edward as I leant in to kiss his cheek. I closed my eyes and imagined the feel of his smooth skin against my lips. I knew he couldn't see or feel me, I was too far away for him to hear my thoughts. I put my hands alongside his temples and concentrated on his mind under my shield. I pictured all of the memories of me, and of us. I began to pull at them one by one. Each memory I pulled from him was like a lick of flame within me, the force of multiple memories burning into a fire that raged in my heart. I pulled them _all _from him. I knew if I could cry, tears would be streaming down my face at what I was forced to do – but I couldn't cry. I didn't have anything to offer as sacrifice for the sacrilege I was committing. I was down to the last memory of me. It was my first day at Forks high school and Edward watched me from across the cafeteria. His eyes met mine for the briefest second as he considered me. I couldn't take that one from him. I couldn't leave him with nothing. Instead, I buried it deep below his conscious thoughts – down into the part of his mind that only dreaming could reach. He didn't sleep, so he wouldn't be able to dream of me. But at least it would be there. I felt that I was leaving some small part of myself with him. I took one last deep breath of his scent, and then moved on to the next member of his family. One by one, I removed their memories. I hated what I was doing but kept assuring myself it was just for two weeks. Once the immediate threat of the Volturi was gone we could work out what to do for next time. _

_I could see the anxiety rolling off Edward in waves as he glanced at each of his family members in turn. _

_"Jasper," Edward whispered, breaking my concentration. "Where's Alice?" _

_I knew my time was running short. Before long they would go in search of Alice – and they would find me, unconscious in Alice's arms. I pulled the last memory from Esme and dropped my shield away, allowing myself to shift back to present. The last thing I heard before I did was Edward's smooth tones, taking on a dangerous edge. "Emmett, Jasper – we're going hunting." _

I shook myself loose of Alice's grip and stepped back quickly. "I'm sorry, Alice."

"Bella, wait."

I shook my head and ran. Alice's eyes glazed over as a vision hit her. "Bella, no!"

I kept running, throwing myself headlong through the forest. I ran half-way back to the house before darting off to the side. I knew if they wanted to, any one of my family – who no longer knew who I was – could track and catch me easily. But I knew them enough to trust in the hope they would be too preoccupied with finding Alice and ensuring she was safe first before worrying about me. I stopped after a few miles, and pushed my shield back towards Alice. The last family member I had to betray. For the second time, I stripped her memories. Before they were ones filled with pain and sorrow – and I felt justified. Now they were happy memories, filled with love and family – and I felt sick. I pulled my shield back around myself. I couldn't have Edward accidentally hearing anything I thought now. I ran again – as I ran I composed a plan in my mind. Two short weeks was all I had available to ensure that my family would be safe – that meant _all _my family, including the wolf and human members.

In that realisation, my destination was set. I would head to Forks. I would ensure the safety of everyone there and then I would wait.

Two weeks and I would be back with Edward and our family.

Two weeks and I would be able to beg for forgiveness for what I had to do.

Two weeks of hell.

* * *

**A/N :- Thanks to everyone who is sticking with this. Reminder I am (for the most part) a HEA girl. This story won't be the exception to that rule j/s**


	4. Chapter 3: Decisions

**Chapter 3: Decisions**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

- EPOV -

"What are we going to do about her?" Jasper asked for the fifteenth time. We'd been discussing the threat of the unknown vampire the entire afternoon, and much of the early evening.

Almost immediately after we arrived back at the house, Jasper and I had gone from room to room to determine the depth of her infiltration. Her scent was on almost everything in the common areas, and for some reason was most concentrated in my room. Neither of us could understand how she had been able to get so close to our house and our family – to me – without our knowledge. How could we not have seen or heard her? How did I not hear her thoughts, or Jasper feel her emotions? We could only assume she was talented somehow. By the time we had finally agreed to try to track her down for answers, she was long gone. We followed her scent for a good twenty miles before stopping and turning back towards home. We were at a lost. The one thing we needed to know was the one thing we couldn't determine - whether she was a threat. I hadn't heard a single thought from her. Each time Alice tried to get a vision of her, the future just disappeared. Jasper was too overwhelmed with our stress to be able to get any read on her emotions from such a distance. When we'd returned to the house again, we had started our discussion and everyone else had joined in. It had been going for hours and kept circling around itself.

"What _can_ we do?" I asked. I was feeling disconcerted. I hated not knowing. I hated the feeling that I was missing some vital piece of information. That I was missing chucks of my past.

"We move," Jasper responded without pause. He had been arguing this from the minute we'd started talking. Ever the strategist, he saw the vampire as too strong a threat for us to face with little to no intelligence about her. The fact that it had been Alice who had ended up alone in the woods with the female played heavily into his decision.

"But why? I know we don't know who she is, but she didn't hurt Alice. I don't think she meant to."

"Then why was Alice out there alone with her? And why can't Alice remember _going _outside with her?" Jasper snapped back.

"I don't know, Jasper," I said, exasperated. That was the problem we kept coming back to. I didn't know. None of us knew. There was nothing we could do to find out anything more. I just couldn't see the logic in moving, at least not for a few weeks. I felt it was more prudent to wait and see if she returned, and deal with it if she did. Obviously, it would require constant attention and high alert, but I felt it would be worth it. Every part of me desired to stay. To wait and see what happened with the Volturi visit, and the female. I buried my head in my hands. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Regardless of the danger of the girl, you know that if we leave now the Volturi will interpret it as a sign of guilt," Alice said, finally. I had seen Alice's vision regarding the Volturi and knew this for a fact. Jasper knew it too, but he was more concerned with the unknown threat of the female and didn't care about the potential risk of the Volturi ire. "They'll assume we are fleeing from them. We have done nothing wrong - we don't want them to think that we have."

"Why are they even coming?" Rosalie interjected.

"I couldn't tell from the vision," Alice replied. "Not really. There seems to be some rumour going around about us, but it's absurd."

"What is it?" Esme asked.

I groaned almost silently into my hands. I knew what Alice had seen in her vision and the rumour was sure to hurt Esme.

"Apparently they have heard some rumours of -" Alice paused, she seemed as unwilling to speak the words as me "- of Edward's bride." Her voice was almost silent when she finished. I could hear the audible gasps around the room, but the thoughts that accompanied them were worse.

Esme's mind filled with hope that maybe there was some chance I would find someone soon. She made a mental note to ask Carlisle later whether anyone in the Volturi shared Alice's gift. I knew from the look on Aro's face in Alice's vision that none did. He coveted her as much as he did me. I couldn't tell Esme that though, not with the joy that was currently coursing through her mind. I couldn't explain to her that there was no one that would ever capture my interest in that way. As that thought crossed my mind, I saw a sudden flash of chocolate brown eyes meeting mine across a cafeteria, but it was gone before I could try to concentrate on it. I scanned my family's minds to see if the vision had come from anyone else, but I already knew the answer. The picture had come from within my own mind, but I couldn't capture it. It was like trying to stare at a faded photograph. The harder I tried, the less I saw.

"They could just be coming to America for another reason," Emmett said, distracting me from my thoughts.

"Does it matter?" I asked. "The result is the same. If they think we're running, they will assume we have something to hide."

"But we don't," Rosalie huffed.

"Exactly," I said, knowing that Rosalie was my one ally in my desire to stay where we were.

"We don't have to decide right now," Carlisle offered. "We can just wait and see."

"Or maybe, we can go meet them head-on?" Jasper suggested. "Show them we have nothing to hide."

"And then what?" I asked. Going to Volterra wouldn't change the possible threat of the female, and she was the reason Jasper wanted to run.

"And then... we see what happens. Alice can keep an eye on the house, if the female doesn't return maybe we can come back here."

I knew that his concession would be enough to sway Rosalie, and Alice was already thinking about the shopping in Italy. With that, the rest of my family had their minds made up. I closed my eyes and decided I would follow their decision. The future spun in Alice's mind. The vision was similar to the one of them coming here, except it was in a more controlled environment. There was no risk of the brunette coming unannounced. The Volturi would ask about my _wife _and find out it was all a fabrication. They would offer Alice and I spots on the guard, we would refuse, and then we would be free to go.

I debated telling everyone to go without me, but as soon as the thought crossed my mind Alice's eyes snapped to me and I saw the consequences for everyone. Something about me trying to keep my bride hidden. I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of their assumptions, but at the same time my cold, dead heart ached for...something.

After we had agreed on our course of action, my family retreated to their own nightly activities. I decided I might as well retreat to my own room and try to find some peace of mind. I leafed through my journals, trying to find reminders of the memories I had lost, something – anything - to fill the gaps. But they were suspiciously silent for the last twenty-seven years. I had a journal for every year of my life from the time I was reborn up until about two years after we moved to Forks. Then they stopped. I frowned. I couldn't understand why I would just stop writing my thoughts on page – I did it religiously every night. I needed something to share myself with. I had no significant other with whom to share my life so my journals took on that role. It wasn't as if I had anything else to occupy my nights. I threw the books across the room in frustration and turned to my bed to lie down. I paused, aware that it was a bizarre, almost human, reaction, to seek the comfort of a bed when I was upset. I never had before. The venom running through my veins chilled as the more staggering concern hit me. Why did I even have a bed? I had never needed one before. Why now? I tried to remember what had led to the decision to purchase one and found that it was one of the mysterious holes in my memory. I growled in frustration. I hated feeling this...lost.

It felt as though something precious had been ripped away from me and in a way it had, my mind. My sanity lay in tattered ruins and I couldn't shake the feeling the female was somehow responsible. I rubbed my face hard. I decided to shower and change for no other reason than to give me something to do. I pulled my drawers out and stood staring blankly at the contents. My brow furrowed at what I saw. All of my clothes and belongings were there, but they rested to one side as if something had sat beside them until recently. I slammed the drawer shut.

I couldn't stay in the room anymore. It was driving me insane. There were so many unexplained items, like the bed, and the large photo of the meadow I used to retreat to in Forks. I couldn't understand why I would have a photo of that place. I enjoyed going there when we lived it Forks because it was the one place in the town I could go for near complete solitude, where the thoughts and voices of the townspeople didn't drive me crazy, but I didn't feel such a strong attraction to it that I would need a photo. At least, I never used to. As I stared at the photo my body had strange reactions that my mind couldn't understand. It was almost as if my body knew something about that place that my mind no longer recalled.

I threw open the window and was outside amongst the forest within seconds. I wasn't sure where I was going or what I wanted, but I soon found myself at the place where we had found Alice earlier. The scent of the unknown female still clung to the air. I followed it back along the path we had traced earlier. I couldn't recall ever having smelled anything as glorious as her scent. I couldn't even begin to explain how pleasant the aroma was. It was almost floral – like freesias or lavender – but much more divine.

My mind began to ponder _her_. I wondered how her venom would taste on my tongue. How her hands would feel on my skin. My body reacted instinctively. I felt myself growing hard. I couldn't shake the thoughts, or what they did to my body. I longed to know the answers to the questions running through my head. Worse, I longed for the female, even though I had no reason to and knew nothing about her. I tried to will away my excitement, but it continued to grow as I drank deeply of the scent. I did something I had never really done before, something which both excited and disgusted me. I palmed myself and began to stroke.

I laid down in the dirt, surrounded by the mixed scents of the female and I. I felt utterly exhausted emotionally. I closed my eyes and the image of brown eyes filled my mind. I tried not to concentrate on them this time, instead allowing my body to take control of the actions of my hand and the image to flit through my mind unfettered.

That was the first night I spent with my dream girl.

In my mind I mixed the scent of the stranger, and her chestnut locks and slim figure, with the chocolate brown eyes that seemed to hold questions and mysteries that would take countless hours, days – maybe even years, to unravel. I rolled it all up into one package to create my ideal mate.

The first rays of dawn were just breaking over the horizon before I began to stir again. For the first time that I could remember, I hadn't counted the passing hours between my family's individual retreats to the time I would have company again. Instead I shared myself with my fantasy. I had whispered to her. Voicing my frustrations and telling her of the struggles I had felt all day, of the strange co-incidences and extra belongings that I didn't remember.

Once I felt the warmth of the sun on my face, I opened my eyes and sat up. As I looked around I noticed something to the left of where I had lain all night. In the hollow of a tree sat a piece of cloth. I moved to examine it, before picking it up gently. It was a deep blue v-neck blouse. I ran it through my fingers. It was soft and silky to touch. I brought it to my face, it smelled of the unknown vampire. The material was old, the blouse worn and faded in places. I looked around for anything else. I wasn't sure if this had been left behind accidentally or on purpose. If it was left deliberately I couldn't figure out why. I decided it wasn't worth worrying about, and it definitely wasn't worth mentioning to my family. I tucked the blouse into the back of my pants and ran the short distance home. I scaled the wall straight into my room and tucked the blouse in my bottom drawer, but not before inhaling the scent one last time.

* * *

A week later we were at JFK airport boarding a flight to Italy. We'd packaged all our belongings up and put them into storage. Jasper was adamant about moving as soon as we arrived back in the country. I was still adamant about returning to the house we had in Rochester. He was concerned the unknown female would come back. I was worried she might not. I thought about the blouse I had found. It was tucked away in my suitcase. Somehow I just couldn't bring myself to leave it behind when it came time to pack.

I had spent every night lying on the bed, that I still didn't remember buying or wanting, with that blouse next to me. The scent of the other vampire was almost washed out because of how often I handled it but something compelled me to pull it back out each night. And whatever that something was, it was the same thing that compelled me to close my eyes and fantasise about my dream girl. Each night since that first I had whispered to her things I would have told my significant other... if I had one. I found I continued my silence when it came to my journals. I hadn't touched them once, despite discovering the threat of the Volturi visit and the unknown vampire.

The rest of my family were on a high about our visit to Italy. We knew there was nothing for us to fear from them, we had no idea why they thought I was married but we were confident the misunderstanding would be ironed out quickly and we would be able to enjoy a small holiday before heading back home and deciding what to do about the real threat. Regardless of the concerns my family held, I wanted to meet her. I wanted to break the spell her scent seemed to weave over me - the more it faded around the house, the more I longed desperately for another hit.

I heard my name called by six different minds simultaneously. It was about the only thing that could pull me out of my deep train of thought. The plane was boarding and apparently I had been so out of it I hadn't even heard the announcement. I sighed and walked onto the airplane. I didn't have a carry-on bag. I had nothing I needed on-board the flight. I wouldn't even need headphones, there was nothing that could capture my interest the way the one image that had been playing on repeat could. Brown eyes, deep pools that I felt I could stare at all day.

The hours melded into one another, time lurched and stopped in funny patterns. Hours would pass in a heartbeat and then seconds would last forever. I couldn't understand the reason behind it, but then, I couldn't care enough to try to. All I knew was suddenly the time had come for facing the Volturi. My family walked in and greeted them as old friends. We were treated as distinguished guests and before he had the opportunity to touch one of us Aro raised his hand to stop us.

"You appear to be a family member short, Carlisle, old friend."

We were expecting this sort of question. Carlisle stepped forward, offering his hand. "As much as it saddens me that my eldest son has not found anyone to share his life with, I have but seven in my family, Aro. Anyone telling you different is sadly ill-informed."

Aro stepped forward and clasped Carlisle's hand. I saw his thoughts as he read every single memory Carlisle had since the last time they had seen each other. Aro seemed satisfied that Carlisle was telling the truth, but as predicted he was incredibly interested to discover my talent, and Alice's. He frowned a little at Carlisle's patchy memory of the last twenty-seven years.

Finally he laughed. "Well, there's a first. A vampire with memory-loss."

Carlisle joined in the laughter, despite his concern that it was something the Volturi Lord had never seen before. "I would blame old-age, but unfortunately it seems to have inflicted even the younger members of my family."

"Ah, well, never mind," Aro said. "We'll get you settled in, can we interest you in some room service? I imagine it was a very long flight."

I shuddered in disgust at the images in his thoughts. I saw a similar shudder run through Carlisle as he correctly interpreted Aro's words. "Thank-you, but we should be alright for the length of our stay. And if not, I am sure the forests around here will provide plenty of opportunities for us."

Aro clapped and laughed. "Still so dedicated to your _unique_ life-style I see?"

Carlisle simply shrugged. Aro led out of the throne-room and towards the guest quarters. I knew from his thoughts this task would generally have been handed off to one of the lesser guard members, but he was performing it today in order to have an excuse for spending time with Alice and myself to learn more about our abilities. I kept a close eye on Alice for any sign of a change in decisions that would change our future.

For a number of days, nothing happened. My family continued to enjoy their holiday in Italy, and I continued to be tormented by desires and thoughts I couldn't comprehend. Aro spent his time studying Alice and I, and attempting to persuade us, but when he saw how committed we were to our family he stopped. His thoughts revealed a genuine desire for our talents, but a patience existed within him too. He was confident that if he waited long enough, a hundred years or even two, we would see his point of view and join his guard. When you had lived as long as he, that length of time was little more than the blink of an eye.

We had been in Italy for a little over a week, and were almost due to go home when everything changed. It was the deep of night, I was talking to my dream girl and blocking out everyone's thoughts as best as I could when Alice came crashing into my room. I stood immediately and focused on her mind. She showed me her vision. I gasped. Jasper had been right. The brunette was back. And based on the damage she was inflicting on our house - it was clear she meant us harm.


	5. Chapter 4: Solitude

**Chapter 4: Solitude**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

- BPOV -

I was still hurtling headlong through the forest. My feet barely touched the ground due to the speed I had gained. When I was far enough from the house that I was fairly certain none of my family would follow I stopped. I turned and braced my back against a tree. I took a minute to take stock of what had just happened and what needed to happen now. My family were safe from the Volturi, or at least as safe as I could hope to make them, but was _I_ safe from them. I realised I was now blind to the future. I had no Alice to guide me to the correct path, instead I had to do what I thought best. First, I had to concentrate. I had to fix anything that would lead Edward back to me too early. _My clothes_. I needed to clear them out of the house. I could think of only one way to do it, short of turning up on the doorstep, knocking on the door and asking. It would be risky and something I had never tried before. But I had to hope it would work.

I ran to a main road and found a gas station. I broke into the female bathroom and used their mirror to prepare a memory. I escaped back into the cover of the forest. I hoped what I was about to do would work, if not the presence of my clothing would drive Edward to distraction and I couldn't risk that. I found somewhere under shelter to lie, not for comfort because standing or lying made little difference, but because I couldn't have someone stumble across me standing and vacant when I shifted. Once I was certain I would remain undiscovered, I shifted.

Almost instantly, I could see through the dual viewpoints that I always had when I shifted into my own memories. I selected a random memory one week previous. That would give gave my past self time before Jacob's family left. Time enough to make the changes I needed to make. Once I was certain I had selected the right memory, I pulled back from my past self's mind. I needed to concentrate to even attempt what I was about to do.

* * *

_- BPOV: one week earlier – _

_"Edward?" I called through the house. He'd disappeared a few hours ago, and so had Jacob. I was certain I knew where they were – in the forest out the back wrestling – but I wanted to double check he wasn't in the house before I decided whether to interrupt their 'boy time'. _

_I stilled and quietened when I saw a flash of an image. It was so quick I might have missed it, if I didn't have perfect recollection. _

_"Go to your room," my own voice had commanded in my mind._

_I shook my head a little to clear it. I guessed what was happening, but I couldn't understand why. I obeyed the command though and went to my room. Suddenly my mind was assaulted with flashes and images that I had obviously prepared at a later stage and was showing myself now. I saw Alice having visions, and my own arms clutching onto her. Then I saw my own face reflecting back at me from a grubby service station._

_"Here goes nothing... I hope this works," I whispered to myself. "My family... your family is in danger. Something will happen in a week's time and you might have to leave. You can't decide to go before then, or Alice will know and she can't know. You need to get around her._

_"You need to take everything of yours, and everything with you in it, from the house. Clothing, books, photo albums, everything. You will need to disappear for a while to keep everything safe. To keep Edward safe." Her voice – my voice – broke when she said his name and I knew it was bad. I didn't care what else she – I – had to say, I would do it to keep Edward safe. "Over the next week, move it all to a hiding place, don't worry about deciding where – I will know when you know. I will collect it from there, but you have to make sure you take everything. And a car – I will need a car too. I can't go back to the house at the moment or I will be at risk, they will be at risk._

_"Please, listen to this, trust me – trust yourself – if I could do this any other way I would, but I can't... I can't lose him for good. Can you?" I shook my head. I knew if I was seeing all this in my mind, I – or at least some future version of me – was feeding me this memory. _

_"I'll do it," I whispered in a broken voice. _

_Part of the memory repeated in my mind. "You can't decide to go before then, or Alice will know and she can't know. You need to get around her."_

_I nodded. "I'll get around her. I can do this."_

_I wasn't sure if I'd – she'd – shifted back to her present or not, but I decided now would be the perfect time to move some of my things. I worried about how to get around Alice at first, before deciding that I could 'donate' the clothes to charity. I would drive into town and drop them at a donation centre. With that in mind I packed up almost all of my clothes, just leaving enough for a week. Based on what my future self said whatever may happen would happen within that time frame. _

_I loaded up one of our lesser used cars. Edward's old Volvo – the one he'd had when we met again in Fairfield. Neither of us could bear to part with it, despite it being over twenty years old and no longer in immaculate condition. Rosalie kept the motor ticking over though so it would serve whatever purpose my future self needed it for, it would garner less attention than one of our other cars and would be the car that no one would miss if it disappeared, except perhaps Edward and I. _

_I drove twenty minutes out of town. When I'd seen my future self's memory I had recognised some of the sights outside of the window, so I knew where she – I – would be later. I left the car where it was before packing up a few of my clothes into a bag with the key. I dropped the bag into the hollow of a tree and ran back to the house. _

_"Bella?" Alice called behind me. I turned to look at her. "What are you doing? What's with the bag of clothes?"_

_"Oh you know," – I shrugged, trying to be convincing as I lied to her – "Edward and I can get a bit carried away. I thought it might be best to lay some out... for later when we go hunting."_

_She wrinkled her nose. "Don't do that to me," she said, obviously seeing visions of the next hunting trip Edward and I would go on. "What about the car?"_

_"Alice, stop being so suspicious." I tried to laugh, to pass it off as nothing, but I wasn't sure how successful I was so I changed tack. "Can you see any dangers on the horizon?" I challenged, raising my eyebrow at her. _

_She shook her head._

_"Exactly." I smiled. "I just have some things to arrange for a surprise for Edward. You'll know all about it soon enough." _

_"Fine," she said. "But you can't keep secrets for long. Not in this family."_

_I resisted the sigh which would give away my lie. Instead, I forced my face into a smile. "I know." _

_I ran upstairs into the room I shared with Edward, or at least still shared for the time being, and waited for him to come home. The easiest way to distract him from noticing the absence of my clothes was to distract him. I stripped down to my bra and undies, the black lace set I was wearing sat against my ivory skin in perfect contrast. I sat on the bed with my legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles, ready to welcome him home. Then I closed my eyes and hoped I – and my future self – knew what I was doing. _

_Edward walked in a short while later. His reaction was exactly what I had hoped for. He rushed to envelope me in his arms. I reached behind his head and pulled his face to meet mine. I ran my tongue along his lips until they parted, then I pressed it deep into his mouth. I delighted in the taste of him, it was a delicacy that I would never grow sick of and which quelled the fire in my throat nearly as much as hunting. _

_All thoughts of what my future self had told me fell away as I allowed myself to enjoy every moment with Edward, like I always had and always would. I couldn't trouble myself with something that may not ever happen._

_

* * *

The following morning we rose to the sound of children playing the backyard. We knew it was finally time to pull apart and rejoin our family. Edward kissed me once more before climbing out of bed to make himself presentable for our guests._

_"Bella?" His voice was soft, questioning._

_"Hmm," I replied, still bouyant from our night of passion. _

_"Where is all your stuff? Your clothes... they're all missing. There are only a couple of items, enough for a week maybe."_

_Damn, I thought. I was madly trying to piece together a believable cover story. "I just thought Alice would like an opportunity to shop, so I dropped it all off to Goodwill yesterday to clear some room. I decided to take them because I was going into town anyway - while you were out playing with the boys. What were you doing anyway?" I asked, in an attempt to divert him from his line of questioning._

_"Jacob and I were just bonding." He grinned. _

_I raised my eyebrow. "Bonding?"_

_He nodded and kissed my lips. I knew he was trying to get me to drop it. So both of us did. We held onto each other's hands, both knowing we were holding something back, but both trusting if it was important we would share. We kept our secrets to protect each other's feelings. _

* * *

I shifted back to the present, trying to shake the sight of me and Edward in each other's arms. The pain of our separation was still too raw. Knowing that I was the cause of it made it worse.

I ran to the spot where I had left the clothes. I knew exactly where to find them; my memories had altered to include the location once I had altered the past. After I found the bag I pulled everything out as quickly as I could, searching for the car key. I was anxious. I was much too close to the house. Close enough that any one of them could stumble across me without my knowledge. I had found the car keys at the bottom of the bag and was just beginning to roughly throw the rest of the clothes in when I heard a sound a few miles off. Footsteps flying through the forest, too fast to be human – or animal, I grabbed the last handful of clothes before pushing myself as fast as possible in the opposite direction. I was almost a mile away before it registered that one item had fluttered to the forest floor. It was too late to go back for it though. I saw a glimpse of Edward's hair colour darting through the trees. I closed my eyes, if I saw any more of him I would run back into his arms as quickly as I could. I knew it was too early for that yet. I had to wait until after the Volturi had been. Two weeks, I reminded myself. I could wait that long.

I ran towards the car, sobs escaping from my lips every few minutes. I thanked my past self for the good foresight of this Volvo. As hard as it was to be inside it, between the scents and memories, it was definitely the best vehicle to take to Forks. It wouldn't stand out as much as some of the more flashy vehicles we had. I climbed in quickly and pushed the accelerator to the floor. It was much slower than running would have been, but I wouldn't have to keep to the cover of the forest either, so ultimately it would provide me with more freedom.

I soon found that concentrating on driving took up far too little of my attention. I just couldn't go to a happy place and focus on shifting and braking. Instead my mind wandered back over time. I couldn't help thinking about the last time Edward and I were separated. Then it was him leaving to try to save my soul. He was so certain that he was bringing danger into my life. He still hadn't forgiven himself completely for that decision. I wondered if I would be able to forgive myself now. I knew I would have to explain why I chose this course to Edward once I had given his memories back, but I would deal with that when I needed to. He would realise that there just wasn't the time to come up with another plan. I couldn't do anything that would bring him, or any of my family, pain. By the time they realised their loss I would be back in their lives... if they'd have me.

I turned my thoughts away from the dangerous direction they were heading. I had to remain positive. They _would_ understand. Despite my mental reassurances, I felt myself slipping back in time. I tried to hold on to the present, aware of the danger of a shift while I was driving, but I couldn't.

_I was standing in the forest, Edward stood across from me. I knew something was wrong, I had known it ever since the night of my birthday party. _

_"You... don't... want me?" I asked. _

_"No." Edward's face was hard, his normally liquid eyes were frozen solid. I couldn't see any contradiction in his eyes or face. He meant what he said._

_"Well, that changes things." I said calmly, my body ignoring the words that he spoke, trying to protect me from the impact. _

_"Of course, I'll always love you... in a way. But what happened the other night made me realize that it's time to change. Because I'm..._tired_ of pretending I'm something I'm not, Bella. I am not human. I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that."_

_"Don't." I wanted to scream at him not to leave but I couldn't, my voice was broken and pitiful, "Don't do this."_

_I couldn't see any of the love I thought had existed between us when he said, "You're not good for me, Bella."_

_The words were confirmation of exactly what I had always known – I wasn't good enough for him. There was no emotion on his face as he waited for me to respond. I forced the words out, "If...that's what you want."_

_He nodded once, a hard nod that shattered everything. The conversation continued but I couldn't follow it. I couldn't breathe. I knew this memory wasn't right, I knew the truth behind it now but it didn't stop me feeling every ounce of pain and rejection I had felt at the time. _

_"Goodbye, Bella."_

_"Wait!" I tried to reach out for him but I couldn't carry myself forward. His cold hands locked around my wrists and pinned them to my sides. He leaned down, and pressed his lips very lightly to my forehead for the briefest instant. My eyes closed._

I opened my eyes. I glanced quickly around and was relieved that I hadn't caused a multi-vehicle pile-up during my lapse. I saw no value in that vision. It just made me angry at everything Edward and I'd had to suffer from the moment we first found each other. Suffering I had thought was well and truly behind us now. Since my transformation I had never entertained the thought that we would someday be split. In my mind it was going to be the two of us together – forever – no matter what else came along.

I pushed the old Volvo hard during my drive. It was coughing and spluttering by the time I reached the outskirts of Forks. I wasn't sure whether it would be able to make the return journey, but I had faith Jacob would be able to fix it for me before I tried.

_Jacob. _I sighed. I wasn't sure what to do about Jacob and Cain, and their respective families. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I was relying on Jacob to help me through this temporary separation, but I couldn't go to La Push. Jacob may have allowed my transformation, but the terms of the treaty made by Carlisle a hundred years ago still stood. No Cullens were allowed on Quileute land. Jacob wouldn't mind as such, but the last thing I needed now was for one of the other wolves to get tetchy.

The one productive thing I had done during my travels was to come up with a cover story for the good people of Forks. I planned on hiding out here until the Volturi had left and I looked too much like myself, and there were too many people who knew the old me, to pass for a stranger. Instead I decided to pose as my own daughter. A love-child that resulted from a one-time reunion of high-school lovers. I had eyes like Edward's and enough similarities to his family now that I didn't think anyone would question me. People rarely questioned us anyway. I thought back to the conversation I'd had with Alice when I saw her for the first time in Fairfield.

_"When did you come up with those stories?"_

_"Just now," she laughed. "Honestly, Bella, I know people become curious about us, but never to the extent where you'll need to know all this information. Usually so many rumours are started no one knows exactly what the truth is."_

I hoped no one in this small town – a town I hadn't seen in over twenty years, not since my father's funeral – found out exactly what the truth was.

* * *

I drove to the Cullen's old house. I didn't know where else to stay. I didn't know where else to go. I knew there would be no electricity or phone, but there would be basic furniture and it was close to the forest. I knew it would get back to the wolves soon enough that someone, more specifically – a vampire, was in the Cullen house. I hoped it would be Jacob or Sam who would investigate, and not someone younger and less inclined to trust me.

I pulled into the driveway and edged along the now overrun path. I was reminded of the time I had driven this way after the Cullens had left when I was just a teenager. I had found the house frightening then, a looming reminder of what I had lost. Now it was no different. Nature was pressing so close to the house it was almost part of the forest. Vines twisted their way up the exterior walls, choking the house. Even from the car I could tell a thick layer of dust coated the once-white dust covers. As I walked closer to the house I was greeted with the softly lingering scents of my family. The interior of the house must be choked with them. I wondered whether I could force myself inside as I realised that the last time anyone stepped through this door was to leave me.

I diverted my course at the last minute, skirting around the house and running straight into the forest. _No time like the present to announce my arrival_, I decided. I ran in the direction of the La Push reserve, slowing only when the scent of werewolves started to cling to the Earth. I wondered if they still ran patrols, the scent here was washed out and ancient – it's presence a lingering aftertaste on the gentle breeze. I ran along the scent trail, it was clear this must be the defining border, although exactly where the boarder started and ended was uncertain. I hoped that I wasn't unintentionally intruding on their land.

I ran along the border for a few miles in either direction, trying to cast as big a net as possible over the area to grab the wolves' attention. If this didn't work I would be making a trip into town sooner than anticipated. I debated heading back towards the house but decided there was one stop I wanted to make along the way. I wondered if I would be able to find my way on my own again. I decided to run alongside the road until I reached the spot where Edward and I had left the trail the first time we had ever gone to the meadow.

I came to a shuddering stop as I neared the spot. Someone had cleared the forest. The meadow, the trees, everything was gone. Instead there stood row after row of generic housing. It stretched off into the distance like a suburban sea. I realised there would be no solace for me in our old favourite spot. The place where he would have proposed... if he hadn't left. A sob escaped my chest. I rested my back against a tree and released another sob. The events of the last few days finally caught up to me. My legs buckled beneath me under the weight of my sorrow, I slid down the length of the tree, the bark pulling at my hair. I pulled myself into a prone position. The earth beneath me was soft and warm, reminiscent of the bed I once shared with Edward... and would share again soon. I tried to remind myself that it would only be another ten days before I would be back in his arms. But no amount of trying could stop my mind's retreat behind my shield. Into a place of pain and sorrow. A place I had only visited once before, years ago – after Alice, when I thought Edward had left me. I knew I had made a promise to him that I would never retreat into myself again, but I couldn't prevent the thickening of my shield. The darkness within my fortress of pain was absolute. Nothing else existed or mattered.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the support you have been showing this. I am glad you are enjoying & I apologise for being so slack in responding to reviews, just know that each and every one brings a smile to my face & encourages me to write more. **


	6. Chapter 5: Gone

**Chapter 5: Gone**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

_Okay I know this was supposed to be Chap for Chap between BPOV & EPOV, but B just had too much to say before she met up with E's present. _

* * *

- BPOV -

A soft snuffling beside me alerted me to the presence of an animal. I ignored it. The rancid smell that filled the air told me it was a werewolf. I wanted to open my eyes and look, to find out who it was, but I couldn't. I felt a shift in the air, a cool change, like the heat was sapped away. I knew it meant the wolf was gone – they had obviously phased because a human replaced him. That was a good sign. That meant it was someone that knew me and trusted me not to attack. Hopefully that meant I would not be attacked either.

I tried to pull myself out of the darkness but I couldn't. Edward was gone. _No_, I reminded myself, _I'd let him go_. The full impacts of my choices were now swirling around me. Ten days without him. Then, when I returned, I would have to explain why - why I had done what I had done. What if he never forgave me? What if he sent me away from him permanently? I felt myself being lifted but I couldn't care - I didn't move or acknowledge the presence of whichever wolf had me.

I didn't know how much time passed with just the soft fall of human footsteps to fill my mind. The darkness still held me tightly in its grip.

"Bells?" Jacob's voice echoed around my mind, working its way into the depths of my sorrow.

I couldn't listen to him. I couldn't bring myself back for him.

"Bells..." his voice was more worried now. "Where's Edward – is everything alright?"

I shook my head infinitesimally, but hearing Edward's name from someone else helped me to find a small piece of myself. I tried to mentally slap myself. I needed to keep it together for Edward. For us. If I couldn't keep it together he would never know me. He'd never know about us. He would never experience the deep, all-encompassing love we shared. Or worse – maybe he would find it with someone else. My muscles twitched in reaction to the jolt of pain that coursed through my body with that thought. Jacob's breathing steadied a little as he took in my movements.

"Is she all right?" I started at the second deep voice. I had thought I was alone with Jacob.

I clawed my way back from the pit of despair I had cast myself into. I opened one eye and then snapped it shut again. I shouldn't be where I was. I was in my father's old house, although legally Jacob still owned it. I was lying on something; I guessed it was a couch. It was thick with dust, just like the rest of the house. Cain was standing behind Jacob in his police uniform. I knew that meant he wasn't here as a friend at the moment - he was Police Chief Markson.

"Bella, what you are doing here?" he asked when he saw my eyes were focused on him.

"Edward..." was all I could manage. The heartbreak in my voice was evident.

Jacob growled, or at least gave a human approximation. "Is he hurt? Are the Cullens alright?"

I nodded. "They're all fine," I whispered.

"What's the matter then?" he asked.

"They just... don't know me anymore."

"Why not?" Jacob asked.

"I... I... I had to leave them." My voice was a soft broken whisper. I could tell Cain couldn't hear me, but Jacob's hands found mine.

"Why?" his voice echoed my heartache. He knew what Edward and I had been through, and I knew he didn't want us to suffer through anything else.

"The Volturi. Alice had a vision. They wanted me."

A look of confusion crossed his face. "The Volturi wanted you?"

I nodded. "And they would have done anything to get me."

"But that doesn't explain anything. Why don't the Cullens remember you? You _are_ a Cullen."

I shook my head. "Not now. Not anymore. At the moment... I'm just... lost."

"You didn't answer my question, Bells."

I couldn't answer him because sobs were running through my body and had stolen my voice. I wished I could cry, to sacrifice tears to erase some small part of the pain I was feeling, but my eyes remained dry and unaffected no matter how painful the sobbing became.

"Cain, can you go for a little while?" Jacob asked. "I need to speak to Bella alone."

Cain hesitated for a moment, looking back at me. I knew he thought of me as his saviour. If I hadn't intervened after he'd shot me, his life would be very different. I could tell he saw this as an opportunity to help me in return. But I couldn't have him feeling any obligation to me. Any extra help he offered now would only put him further in danger. I nodded to Cain to let him it was all right, I wanted to talk to Jacob alone. He smiled and nodded back, turning to leave.

He turned back to look at me as he opened the door. "If you need me, Bella, you know where I am."

I nodded. I knew his family were living in the house at the end of the street. He'd bought it ten years previous, saying he wanted to set himself up on his own two feet and not rely on charity from his friends. I had been so proud when it had happened, it vindicated my trust in him. I watched as he shut the door behind him. I hung my head in shame that I had dragged him into such a dangerous world.

I focused on Jacob again. His face was inches away from my own. "Explanation. Now!"

I looked away for a few minutes, trying to get my explanation straight in my own mind before I opened my mouth. "I erased their memories," I said. "So that the Volturi wouldn't know I even existed." Edward's words from when our situations were reversed hit me, _it will be as if I never existed. _

"Who's memory?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Everyone's."

"Even Edward's?"

"Yes," I sobbed again. "I had to. I couldn't let the Volturi kill him to get to me. I couldn't lose him for good."

"Surely there was some other way to do it?"

I shook my head.

"You mean to say that between the eight of you _this" _– he indicated the house around him – "was the best option you could come up with?"

"It was my choice," I wailed.

"Why? Tell me what happened?"

I looked into his eyes. "I saw the future in Alice's mind. This was the only path that didn't end with my family being splintered and hurt."

"But Bells," Jacob said, laying his hand on my face, his fingertips burning my skin and helping me to focus on the present. "Your family _is _splintered, and _you_ are hurt."

"Do you think I don't know that?" I snapped, pulling myself into a sitting position. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I had to remind myself that it wasn't Jacob's fault - he just hated anything that tore Edward and I apart. He knew how much it hurt to be away from the one you loved. "But it's just for two weeks."

"What do you need from me?"

"Nothing," I said. "You don't owe me anything. I just needed to make sure you knew about the Volturi and the risk they posed. Cain will be in danger if they ever know he knows. I'll do _anything_ necessary to make sure that everyone here is safe."

He dropped his hands and leaned back from me. "Are you going to steal _my_ memories too?" His voice was sharp and hurt.

I shook my head and reached out to him. "No. I need you Jake. I can't make it through alone."

He sighed. "Bells, you didn't need to do _any_ of this alone. I've seen the way the Cullens come together in a time of crisis. They would have come up with another solution."

I shook my head, despite the doubt in my mind that maybe, just maybe, he had a point. "There wasn't time," I sobbed, mostly in an attempt to soothe my own guilt.

His face softened as he took in my distress. He blew out a breath. "It doesn't matter, what's done is done I guess. What happens next?"

"We wait until the Volturi have gone, and then I go and beg for forgiveness."

Jacob grasped my hands. "Forgiveness?" He cocked his head at me.

"From my family."

"I think they'll understand," he said, gently.

"I won't survive if they don't forgive me."

"I don't think they'll stay mad at you. I'm sure Edward won't."

"I hope you're right," I whispered.

"I know I am," he replied. "In the meantime, why don't you get yourself cleaned up?" He raised his hand to my hair, and pulled away a stray leaf.

I nodded. "Thank-you, Jacob. For understanding."

"I never said I understood. But I'm here for you."

I nodded. "My clothes..." I whispered. "They're all at... at _their_ old house."

"I'll go get them, you draw yourself a bath. Just relax, Bells. We'll get through this."

I nodded, and trudged up the stairs of my father's old house. Memories flooded through me with every step. I shifted into a memory and saw myself walking up them, knowing Edward was in my room - waiting for me - after our day at the meadow. The first time we declared our love for one another. But the love I had for him now eclipsed the love I had felt then. It was like comparing a molehill to a mountain.

* * *

The next week was nothing short of a nightmare.

Jacob tried to keep me sane as best as he was able. He even had Harriett bring Sue and Max down from the reservation. It helped... while they were with me. Although Edward's absence was a pain I felt constantly. But eventually each evening they needed to return home. In the middle of the night, alone in my old room - lying in the place where Edward and I had fallen deeper in love – my sorrow hit its peak. I found myself sinking back into memories of happier times. It was the only way I was able to manage getting through the time without running back to Rochester. Finally enough days had passed that it was time to head back to my family. I loaded my clothes back into the Volvo and kissed and hugged Jacob and Cain and their families good-bye.

I wrung my hands nervously. It would take me a little under three days drive to get back to my house, to my family, but I had no idea what I would do after that. I couldn't exactly just knock on the door and introduce myself as Edward's wife. There was every chance they would rip me to shreds before I even had a chance to get the words out. I knew they had to be on edge after the way I had left Alice, and they would have noticed my scent around the house.

Harriett wrapped her arms around me. "It'll be fine, Bella. I've seen the way he looks at you. That sort of love isn't just forgotten, no matter who many memories are lost."

_Stolen_, I thought to myself, but I nodded, hoping she was right.

When I had done it - ten days prior - taking my families' memories had seemed like the best choice I could make. Now, I just couldn't help but wonder if I was wrong. A sense of apprehension built in my stomach, growing with every mile I travelled through. Edward's face filled my vision, haunting me constantly.

As nervous as I felt, I couldn't help but feel a little excited too. If things went my way I would be back in Edward's arms before long. I stopped only for fuel and one quick hunt, I hadn't hunted at all since leaving, but I wanted my eyes to stand as evidence that I knew of, and supported, their lifestyle.

My hands gripped tightly onto the steering wheel as I pulled into the driveway. My face broke into an involuntary smile and a long shaky breath escaped my lips. I debated whether to keep my shield up or drop it. On one hand, if I let a name slip in my mind - which would be easy to do - Edward may become concerned that I knew their names before I was introduced. But on the other hand, having my shield raised would raise their suspicions immediately. In the end I dropped it but tried to keep my thoughts as neutral as possible. It wouldn't help to profess my undying love to someone who didn't even know me.

I stopped in front of the house and took another deep breath. I immediately knew something was wrong. The scents in the area were too faded. Judging by the way the smell had washed out none of my family had been in this area for almost a week. I tore from the car in a rush, running to the front door as quickly as I could.

I knocked softly on the door. There wasn't a sound or a movement from within the house. I knocked louder. Still no movement. My nerves fractured. I pushed the door open and my heart fell into my feet. The larger pieces of furniture were covered in dust sheets, the smaller furniture and personal effects were gone. I ran through the house – tearing from room to room.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

Everything was gone.

I ran to my room. The room I had shared with Edward. It was empty. His clothes gone. His journals gone. My life... gone.

Anger at myself, and my own stupid decision, coursed through my veins and before I knew what had happened I had kicked the bed and sent it flying across the room, shattering the window.

The sound of the glass shattering tore through me and was reminiscent of the shattering of my heart. I began to sob as I tried to straighten the room. It didn't work. The mess grew greater as I lost control and exerted too much strength trying to do simple things. My frustration rose like bile in my throat. I ran through the house, pulling the dust covers off everything – trying to find something, anything, to show me where they had gone. I would chase them to the ends of the earth. If only I knew where they were. After I finished tearing through the rooms I ran from the house and into the forest. I ran for a few miles before I fell to my knees.

My life was over.

My love was gone.

I was all alone.

I sobbed into the earth.


	7. Chapter 6: Need

**Chapter 6: Need**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

- EPOV -

As I watched the brunette tear up our house, I clenched my hands into tight fists.

"Why?" I asked Alice. "What happened?"

_I don't know, Edward,_ Alice thought. _But I think Jasper is right. It's too dangerous to go back to that house. _

I wanted to argue with her. I wanted to tell her that it was worth investigating, but I knew she was right. I couldn't ask any of my family to put themselves in harm's way because I had some strange fascination with a brunette vampire with a tantalising scent. Someone I didn't even know. Especially not when said vampire obviously had a violent nature.

"What was that?" I asked Alice. She had been turning the vision over and over in her mind. The last picture was the female falling to the forest floor. It was such a heartbreaking sight it hurt to watch it. "Why is she so sad?" I wondered aloud to myself.

"I don't know. It disappears after that," Alice replied.

I dismissed her with a flick of my hand. I needed to be alone with my thoughts. The sight of the female so sad... so broken... hurt me. A physical pain. I didn't understand it; my kind never suffered illness or injury, so why did a vision give me a tangible ache in my chest. I toted it up as another infuriating question that I would never know the answer to.

I exited the room shortly after Alice. Seeking solitude that couldn't be found within the confines of the four walls there. Everywhere I looked was blandness and nothing. There was no beauty, no peace. I roamed the castle, climbing higher and higher in an attempt to find comfort.

I stood alone on one of the turret towers, watching the sun break through the dark of night, wishing I had something to light the darkness I felt inside. I heard Aro coming in search of me before he even hit the stairs, giving me time to prepare. I knew the conversation I was about to have had been coming the entire time I was here. He had noticed how out of sorts I had been during my time in Volterra. He had seen the worry and concern in my family's minds and he had decided to prey on what he considered a weakness in my family's unity. He would be sourly disappointed, but there was little I could do to change that. I couldn't stay here.

"Young Edward," his feathery voice whispered behind me. _You have much on your mind. Why don't you share your concerns?_ He held out his hand.

I knew it was regarded as the height of rudeness to refuse Aro's hand and it would be death to do so. I was depressed, but not suicidal, so I pressed my fingers against his. The first thing he tried to read - eagerly - were my true intentions regarding the Volturi guard. His face fell as he realised how adamant I was about staying with my family.

_You are quite certain of this course?_ He asked. The echo of his own thoughts read through my mind had him reeling with excitement.

_Yes_, I thought in reply. _I cannot leave my family. Even as the seventh wheel, as you so eloquently think, I am at peace - at home. I can't leave them. I won't. _

_Not even to find out more about the brunette that's in your mind?_ He asked. He showed me visions - my own memories - of my nights spent thinking of her. Of the questions I had surrounding her and why she seemed to have such a hold on me.

I was tempted, and he saw it in my mind, but it was too much to give up. My family for answers. I shook my head. _Not even for that._

_You are certain? I have excellent resources. There is no doubt I would be able to track her down sooner or later._

_She doesn't mean as much to me as my family._

_Such loyalty is to be commended. I just hope it doesn't see you get hurt. _He released my hand and turned. I could see him formulating a plan in his mind. Whatever my previous thoughts were about her, whether she meant harm or not, I had just placed the unknown female into the path of danger. Aro thought that if he could find and claim her he would be able to convince me to join him to gain the answers I sought.

I cursed myself internally. I made the decision then and there that I would find the brunette before his guard could. I would ensure she was safe from the Volturi first and foremost. She didn't deserve to be in danger because of me. Then, I would see if she had the answers I needed. Finally, if she was going to be a threat to my family - I would destroy her myself.

I followed the thoughts of my family and found them in a planning session. Apparently Alice had given them the details of her vision and they all agreed that it would not be wise to return home. They had a map of the North America stretched out in front of them and were trying to decide where we should go next. Emmett and Rosalie were arguing for Canada, but Alice wanted to head back to Washington, despite Carlisle's concerns that not enough time had passed since we last resided in Forks.

Every time she thought of Washington she saw glimpses of me and the brunette; nothing solid that she could latch on to, but staccato images of the two of us running, of _her_ by my side, of me hunting while the brunette looked on - her honey coloured eyes staring at my back. Her face was beautiful, even for our kind. I sighed in frustration - her eyes were not the ones I had dreamt of for so long, despite my mind mixing the images. In all the images Alice saw there was one constant. I looked happier than I had ever felt - at least since my introduction to my immortal life. I couldn't deny I was intrigued by what could happen in the state to change my demeanour so drastically. At the moment a scowl was the most emotion I could achieve. I placed my finger over Shelton, WA. It was far enough from Forks that even if people did remember our time there we would be unlikely to run into them.

"There," I said, before walking off.

I would leave them to their debate, now that they knew my say. I realised I was being even more of an ass to them than usual of late, but I couldn't help it with the pieces of myself that were missing. The mere fact that I was now using words like ass bothered me. Something had changed in me. Something that happened around the time my memory grew patchy. And I was more determined than ever to find out what it was.

I had reached the room I was staying in, and had begun throwing things hastily back into my bag, before I realised something that had eluded me. It was obvious once I knew and I grew angry at myself for not having seen it sooner. I had mixed the brown-eyes of my dream with the unknown vampire to come up with a dream girl, but I had just witnessed the topaz colour of the female's eyes. I shuddered again at the feeling of loss I felt on seeing her eyes. But what had alluded me in the moment was that her eyes should have been red. I leaned against the wall to ponder that for a few seconds. Then I pulled up the images of her destroying our house, replaying them in my mind. I watched as she threw herself out of the house and saw her as she sunk to the ground. At the last moment, she raised her eyes up once, as if imploring the heavens for something.

Her eyes were golden.

I hurtled from the room in search of Alice. She left the group to find me when she saw I was searching for her.

When I found her I clutched onto her shoulders. "What can you see about the female now?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Why?"

"She's like us, Alice."

"What do you mean?"

"Her eyes. Look at her eyes."

Alice replayed a couple of snippets of the visions she'd had over again in her mind. I watched as she came to the same realisation I had. We had another 'vegetarian' vampire.

"Do you think that Tanya's family..." Alice asked.

I shook my head. "I think Tanya would have mentioned a new family member."

"Then how?"

"I don't know, Alice. But I am going to find out. I'm getting a plane home. Tonight."

"Edward, you can't go alone."

"Please, Alice, I need answers, and for some reason I think she's the one who has them. But I can't risk anyone else's life if I'm wrong."

"But it's suicide going there alone."

"I don't think so," I countered. "But regardless, I have to try. You can keep an eye on me."

"You put too much faith in me sometimes."

I shook my head. "I put _just enough _faith in you."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and was in contact with the airlines before I'd hit my room. I grabbed my bag and before I knew what was happening I had said farewell to my family, promising to meet them again once they had decided where to move. I had my phone and charger and would be in near constant contact with them.

Carlisle and Esme pulled me into an embrace. _Come home soon, son,_ Carlisle thought.

_Come home safe,_ Esme pleaded.

I nodded to both of them. Then slipped from the castle and into one of the Volturi's cars. Aro had granted us permission to use them at our leisure, I just hadn't had a need until now.

Within twenty-four hours I was on a flight back to JFK. From there I would head back to our house in Rochester. I had no idea what I would find. Or who. I just knew that was where I needed to be. Every mile closer I drew, my body seemed to sing for the touch of another.

I arrived at the airport and checked in quickly with my family. They were making their own arrangements to leave. Alice informed me that Aro had already sent out a search party for the female too. I was suddenly glad we knew so little about her - at least she wouldn't come to harm because of me. I knew nothing about her, but I knew I didn't want to see her hurt... at least not yet. Not until I could assess the risk she posed.

I drove to our house as quickly as I could, I estimated three days had passed since Alice's vision. Three days could change a lot. I pulled slowly into the drive, trying to assess the damage inflicted from a distance. But more importantly, trying to see if I there was any sign of the female. I didn't want her to have a chance to attack before I even knew she was here. She'd already proven that she was able to get around my family's talents somehow. She could be lying in wait and I might be blind without my ability to read her thoughts. I climbed out of the car and stopped in my tracks.

Werewolf.

The scent was rich and thick on the air. The putrid smell entwined through my senses and left me reeling, yet somehow I also felt comforted.

Jacob.

The name swirled through my mind, a familiar but strange comfort filled me. Jacob was a... friend. I shook my head a little. I had memories of friendly wrestles in the back of this house. But no recollection of _why_ I would be friends with a werewolf. I examined a memory in my mind.

_Jacob was in his wolf form, hiding in the shadows of the trees across from me, a low, feral growling issued from him. _On three_, he thought._

_I nodded and crouched low, ready to attack. _

One, _Jacob counted. _

Two.

_He crouched backwards, ready to spring. _

Three_. _

_We both launched ourselves across the space and collided hard. I twisted Jacob around and threw him off me. I heard his laughter in his mind. _That the best you've got? _He threw himself at me again. _

My memory stopped. I even couldn't remember the outcome of the mock-fight.

My phone rang, I ripped it out and pressed it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Edward?" Alice's voice flooded with relief as she heard my voice. "You just disappeared. I thought..."

"It's okay, Alice. I _think _there is a werewolf here."

"A _werewolf._" Her voice rose a full octave in panic.

"I think it's Jacob," I whispered, wondering if she would even know who I was talking about.

"Jacob," she repeated, deep in thought. "But why..."

"Why are we friends with a werewolf?" I answered for her.

"Yes," she replied. "I remember him, but not why we met."

"I think he was here. Recently. I'm going to see what I can find."

"Edward..." her voice was broken. "Be careful. I... I can't see what's going to happen next."

"I know, Alice. I'll touch base shortly."

I entered the house and walked from room to room. The damage was largely superficial. Dust covers had been removed. Drawers pulled off their rails. Nothing permanent, except in my room. There the destruction was absolute. The bed lay on its side, twisted around the broken window pane. The drawers from my dresser were broken and splintered, almost as if they had been pushed back into place with too much force. I checked through the jewellery that my mother had bequeathed to me. I was horrified to find two items missing. One was a plain necklace that I didn't care about. The other was the most precious thing in the world to me - my mother's engagement ring. The ring I had hoped that I would, against all odds, be able to give to someone else one day. But now it was gone. Stolen by a home-wrecker. It made me all the more anxious to find the brunette. I needed some goddamn answers.

I heard a sound downstairs. I froze momentarily before tuning into the thoughts of the person.

Jacob.

He was here and he recognised my scent.

"Jacob," I called.

"Hello?" he answered cautiously.

"Jacob... it's me, Edward."

An audible sigh of relief came up the stairs. "Great. I mean, good, I mean, I wasn't sure if you would remember me, so I didn't want to call out."

He came into my room, his eyes cast around for a moment, but he wasn't surprised by the mess. If anything he looked... embarrassed.

"Why wouldn't I remember you?" I wondered if he knew what was happening to me. Could he know some of the answers to my questions? "Do you know..." I cut off. I didn't want to admit I was having problems with my mind - with my memories - to anyone. But I especially didn't want to tell an enemy who was inextricably a friend.

He sighed. "I don't know what I can say, man. I don't know the rules in this type of situation. And now she's run off. She's made everything so complicated."

"Who has?" I asked.

He walked over to the smashed window and looked out, away from me. "I want to answer that, but I can't. Like I said, I don't know the rules. But I do know that everything I say about her will be meaningless to you."

"Who, Jacob? Tell me." I demanded.

He sighed. _Bella, what have you done? _He picked up a piece of the shattered glass and was turning it over in his hands.

"Who's Bella?" I asked.

The piece of glass in his hand shattered and spinters pierced his skin. The smell of his rancid blood filled the room. "Oh god," he whispered. _He really doesn't remember a thing about her. He doesn't even care that she's gone._

"Who's gone? Jacob, please give me some answers. Why are you at my house? What's happening?"

"I was helping a friend."

"A friend?" I repeated.

"She called me. She wasn't sure what to do. I flew down to help her."

Realisation dawned on me. "You mean the brunette?" I asked.

"Bella," he repeated.

"Why was she here?" I asked, my voice cold and hard.

"I... I can't answer that. I don't even know where to begin trying to answer that."

"Do you make it a practice to be friends with vampires, wolf?" I didn't know where my antagonism came from, but I was irritated that he was supposed to be a friend of my family, and yet he was helping the one who had destroyed our house. The one with eyes like ours, and who I couldn't get out of my head.

His eyes met mine, a deep sorrow existed within them. "Only certain ones," he snapped. "Ones worthy of friendship. And right now, Bella needs a friend. She's got herself into a large mess." He looked down at his hand, it was healing around the chunks of glass. He gritted his teeth and yanked each one out.

"Bigger than you might think," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if she is your _friend_, than you should be able to give her this warning. Tell her someone is coming for her. They will find her, and when they do, they will corrupt her or destroy her. The Volturi think they can use her to get to me, but I have no interest in joining their guard and nothing will lure me to them. She needs to go into hiding and stay hidden."

"She knows about the Volturi. That's why she..." he cut off abruptly.

"Why she what?"

"Nothing," he mumbled, his thoughts went to his family and friends. He was practised in the art of blocking me.

"Tell me."

"I can't," he said. "I promised I wouldn't and there is no way you would believe me."

"I am a vampire who can read-minds and is friends with a werewolf. I think my ability to believe the unbelievable is pretty strong."

"Regardless... you wouldn't believe this. You need to see it for yourself. She needs to show you herself."

"Then where is she? Have her come. Have her show me. But be warned - I can take care of myself." I injected my voice with venom.

He sighed. "I know, man. Look, I don't know where she is at the moment she ran. But when I find her, if I find her, I know she'll want to get in contact. I know she wants to find you."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because she needs you."

I furrowed my brow in frustration as his words ran circles in my mind. _She needs you._

"What do you mean, she needs me?"

He sighed again. _I can't say more than that. _

"At least tell me where she is."

"I don't know." _She ran before, but I don't know where to. I flew all the way here for her, and she runs off. _

I sighed and took in the worry in his mind. I closed the distance between us and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Look, we're friends. I don't know why we're friends" - I tried again in vain to remember the events leading to our friendship - "what I mean is I can't remember..."

"I know. Look, what happened to you sucks, man. I wish she hadn't done it, but I can't change it."

"You... you know what happened to me."

_To your whole family._

"Tell me," I demanded.

He dropped his chin to his chest. "I can't, not without breaking a promise to Bella."

"Time may come when you have to pick sides." I tried to make it clear that time was now.

He shook his head. "I won't. I can't."

"You must."

"Then I pick her. You've got your family. At the moment, she's got no-one."

"Then go – get out of my house."

He hung his head again, then he took a few steps. He looked back over to me, opened his mouth as if to talk but closed it again and turned to lop from the room. I heard him phase when he hit the bottom of the stairs.

As I began to fix some of the more superficial damage to the house, his words played out again and again in my mind. I realised I had been right - the female had something to do with my missing memories. Now I was more determined than ever to find out what and make her pay for what she'd done.


	8. Chapter 7: No Control

**Chapter 7: No control**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

- BPOV -

I couldn't think about the damage I had wrought on the house in my fit of rage.

I couldn't think about the epic mistakes I had made that had led me to this place.

All I could think about was the fact that Edward was gone. Worse than that - my entire family was gone.

I had nothing and no-one.

I sat tearing the earth apart as I sobbed into the ground for longer than I cared to admit, but finally I pulled myself from the ground. I wasn't sure where I could go. I only knew where I wanted to be - back in Edward's arms. I knew it was impossible though... because he was gone. I trailed back into the house, completely unaware of the fact I was adding a trail of dirt to the wounds I had already inflicted on the place that had once been my sanctuary. The place where I had been happy.

I picked up the phone - testing to see if the line was still active - worrying all the while about what I could do next. I couldn't go on without him. I knew that was an impossibility. Our lives were too tightly entwined in each other to simply extract him from myself. I had too many memories burning inside my mind – every one of the memories I had taken from my family lived alongside my own and the agony of what I had lost was a constant painful reminder. Especially because they were gone.

It took me too long to realise there was a dial-tone and I had to hang up the phone before I could call anyone. But who to call? I dialled Jacob's number. I recognised his voice the instant he picked up.

"They're gone," I whispered.

"What? Bella? Is that you?"

I couldn't answer any of his questions more than just repeating myself a little louder. "They're gone."

"Bella, what's happening? Have you put things right?"

I shook my head, moving the headset along with me. "They're gone," I repeated for the third time.

"Bella, you are starting to scare me. Is there anyone else there?"

"No," I whispered. "They're..."

Jacob cut me off. "They're gone. I get it. Do you mean they left when you arrived? Did they say anything to you? Bells, you have to tell me what's happening."

I broke down again. "They were gone. When I got here - they were gone. They've been gone a while... I don't know when they left." As I spoke my voice dropped lower and lower until it was unnaturally quite. If it had been a human on the telephone they wouldn't have heard me utter the most devastating words of all. "I don't know where they are."

"What do you need? Are you coming back here?"

"No!" I snapped suddenly. "I can't leave! What if he comes back, Jake? What if I'm not here when he comes back?"

"I'll come to you then. But I need you to stay calm."

I was stressed. Jacob could obviously hear it down the line. I panicked. Was my discomfort so obvious? Could the whole world see and feel who much pain I was in? I knew tell that despite my recent hunting trip I had depleted all my energy. I would have to hunt again - and soon. I would need to stick to the forest because I couldn't risk encountering humans in my weakened emotional state; I didn't know if I would have the resolve to avoid temptation. I listened to Jake on the other end of the phone but ignored the words he spoke. Instead, I concentrated on the consistent sounds he was making - his regular breathing and the steady thudding of his heart. I closed my eyes and tuned into those sounds, trying to use them to block out my thoughts all of which were focused on Edward. On my memories of Edward. All of my memories, even the ones from when he was human.

I vaguely heard Jacob's next words. "Bella, I've just booked my flight. It leaves in two hours. I'll be there as soon as I can."

I nodded, but didn't say anything. I gazed blindly out a window, realising that trying to notice anything else was useless because Edward's face filled my vision. I longed to see his features again, to run my finger down his cheek and whisper to him how he made me feel. I felt the phone slipping from my hand as my mind shifted into the past.

_I was in a bedroom. I recognised the plain but tasteful decorations immediately. I knew the exact placement of the matching bed, chest of drawers and dresser. Each piece was veneered with sections of different woods forming neat, geometric patterns. I instantly felt at ease, knowing precisely where I was. Edward's room. The room he had lived in for seventeen years before passing away in 1918. I breathed deeply of the almost familiar scent - acknowledging but disregarding the aching burn that it caused in my throat. I had been here once before; so many years ago. I looked around and saw a past version of myself. She was now a permanent part of the events; because Edward had spoken to me. He had known I was there and I had changed history. I watched myself curiously. My eyes were cherry-red and burned brightly in terror. I knew why I was afraid and wanted to tell her it was okay. The last time I had visited this place was just after I had stolen Alice's human memories. At the time I had been so afraid of doing the same thing to Edward. I wanted to scream a warning at myself to not be so stupid._

_I heard the door open and shut. I knew my other self wouldn't turn around, but I couldn't resist. I needed to see him again - even if it wasn't _quite _him. _

_"I know that you are here," Edward's human voice had nothing on the crystal clarity of his melodic vampire tones, but it made me ache for him just the same. "I just want to know who you are."_

_I remembered how I felt the first time I experienced this memory. Back when it belonged only to Edward; before I had intruded and made it a shared memory. A spark of hope ran through me. This was not a memory that held my name or any recognition of me. I realised that meant it was not a memory I had stolen from him. Instead it was something Edward and I shared. Something he held locked away even now - even if he didn't realise it. The thought comforted me and hurt me in equal measures. _

_My mind was drawn back to the Edward I had in front of me. The human version of the vampire I loved so deeply. He walked over and sat on the bed. He sighed before muttering, "Maybe they're right. Maybe I am crazy." _

_He bent his head into his hands and pulled his hands through his hair in a gesture familiar to my Edward. He looked so sad and broken. I wanted nothing more than to comfort him. I circled around behind him and stood next to him. I raised my hand and extended my fingers until they were almost touching his face - or would have been, if I could touch him. _

_I saw the confusion and pain cross the features of my past self. I desperately wanted to tell her that it would be all right. But she couldn't see me here. I wasn't part of these events. I was merely a bystander, watching as history repeated. _

_Edward raised his head before cocking it to the side. "See - that is what I mean. You are confused." He stood and walked around the room. "There is someone here. Who are you?"_

_He only stopped when he was practically on top of my past self. I could see the bloodlust raging behind her darkened irises. I knew that sensation well. In the years since this memory I had heard the term 'singer' used by nomad vampires who came to see us as a curiosity when they encountered our scents. Once it had been explained to me, I knew that without a doubt that Edward was my singer, just as I was his. I wondered, not for the first time, whether the situation would have been different if our roles had been reversed. If I had been born in first and had encountered Edward after ninety years of abstinence. Would I have been able to control my thirst? I shuddered at the thought. _

_I watched the back of Edward's head as he walked over to my past self. The two of them had a moment in which it was almost possible to see the electricity crack the air between them. Suddenly I was jealous. I knew that this memory would end soon and when it did she would be going back to Edward... and I would be going back to nothing. _

_She raised her hand until it was inches from his cheek but then let it drop. I knew it was because she was terrified of hurting him like she thought she had hurt Alice. I wanted to laugh at her stupidity. She had saved Alice from facing forever with memories that were painful and unwanted._

_"What are you scared of? Who are you?" he asked. "If you'll allow me to help you, we might be able to find a way for you to cross over."_

_I knew this was where the memory should end so I clung tightly to the past; trying to wrap it around myself like a blanket even as my past self disappeared. I tried to manipulate it so I could steal precious seconds with Edward. I closed my eyes tightly, willing myself to stay in the past. Willing myself to stay with him. I opened one eye and then the other. I was face to face with piercing green eyes. He looked straight through me, but continued to be aware of my presence. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _

_"Edward..." I breathed. He was so close I could almost reach out and touch him. _

_"It's almost as if I can hear you, my angel. Speak again."_

_"I'm sorry. For everything I've done..." I whispered, my voice broken._

_"So much regret. But why?" I knew he wasn't responding to me, only to the vague concepts he could perceive in my thoughts. My Edward had explained it to me once. After I had re-awoken his memory - or perhaps I had created it, I could never be sure - he'd told me how he'd felt when I was with him. He said it was like I was speaking to him from a dream. _

_Despite knowing I wasn't really talking to him, it was easy to close my eyes and push that reality away. It was easy to make myself believe that we were both really here and that I was able to apologise to him and have it mean something."Because I hurt you. Because I hurt _us_. We were so perfect together, but to save us I had to break us apart. And now you don't even know who I am. You don't even know what _we _were."_

_"My angel, such sorrow," his voice sounded sad for me. "Won't you tell me who you are? I just want to help."_

_I was tempted to raise my hands and show him everything of our life together. To show him what he meant to me so when I took his vampire memories something of me remained. I closed my eyes, preparing a series of memories. I stacked them up alongside one another, all of our life together, just like I had shown Elizabeth so she would convince Carlisle to save Edward. I raised my hand to the side of his face, the memory of that event playing in my mind. If I showed him now, he wouldn't be surprised by them on his deathbed. I would change something. I shook my head and took a step away. I couldn't risk changing that. What if I made it worse, what if Edward decided he didn't want the life I showed him now and told Carlisle not to change him. I knew my adoptive father well enough to know he would never bring anyone into this life who had specifically asked not to be. _

_"I'm sorry," I whispered. _

_"I can feel you slipping away. Don't be afraid. You will know what to do when the time is right."_

_I only had enough time to say one more thing. "I love you." _

I was still standing in my former home. The telephone handset stared up at me from the floor; a loud beeping indicated that Jacob had cut off the call from his end. I wasn't sure how long ago he'd done that. I tried to concentrate on the conversation we'd had before my trip to the past but I couldn't recall a single word of it. Not while Edward's human face was burned into my mind. I missed him so badly it was a physical need. A wound without a scar.

A vague recollection of the discussion with Jacob crossed my mind. He was coming here. He was coming to help me out. The only problem was I couldn't bear to be in this house of memories a moment longer than I needed to. Despite my insistence that I couldn't leave when I was on the phone earlier, I knew there was no point in staying. Edward wasn't coming back here - that much was evident by the preparations they had made to leave. I'd lived as a Cullen long enough to know the process involved with moving - and the great length they went to in order to avoid returning to familiar areas. Which made me wonder where they would go. Where they _could_ go. I sighed, because I already knew the answer - anywhere. I knew they generally preferred to stay in the states, but there were times we when had lived overseas, and it wasn't out of the question that they would move there. My family could have moved anywhere on Earth and I would never be able to find them. I wasn't gifted like Alice. My gift was useless when it came to the future - I was relegated to living in the past.

I fell into another memory, the day we had moved into this house.

_Edward covered my eyes and led me up the staircase. We were going to be in the highest room again. I learned fairly quickly that the top bedroom was always reserved for Edward - except where the view was better than any other room in the house. Then Alice got first dibs. _

_I felt like giggling. We moved every few years and each time Edward would go through this same routine - doing the 'big reveal' of what our bedroom looked like. There were always some common elements. There was always a bed now because, unlike when Edward was single, we had a use for it. There was always Esme's impeccable taste stamped on the room. And there was always the photo of the meadow. The one Edward had given me for my last real birthday. _

I pulled back to the present. My heart, such as it was, was trying to climb out of me through my throat. The photo. I knew the damage in our bedroom was severe. I had taken out my frustration there. But I couldn't remember whether the photo had been on the wall or if it had been removed. I ran up the stairs quickly. I sighed in relief when I saw no evidence of a destroyed frame in the mess. But what a mess it was.

I began to pluck through the debris, trying to make some headway to fix the disarray in the room. A stray ray of sunlight came through the window. It glinted off my skin, which was nothing new, but it also hit my engagement ring - Edward's mother's ring - causing me to pause and stare at my hand. My insides twisted as I looked at the ring. I couldn't look at the reminder of the love Edward once had for me knowing that it was gone now and I was the reason. I slid the ring from my finger - removing it for the first time in over twenty years.

I was going to place the ring in my pocket but I noticed Edward's jewellery box at the top of the cupboard. It was always the last thing he came back for. The last thing moved - because he didn't trust putting them into storage. I flipped open the lid, wondering why he had left it now. Had everything lost value to him? Had I unwittingly stripped his faithfulness? Or had he misplaced this box and I dislodged it in my rampage? I quickly assessed the rest of the rooms and there was definitely nothing else left behind that they would usually take. I couldn't figure out why he had left it this time and debated whether to take it with me. In the end, I decided to replace it back into its hiding spot. I rifled through the box first, finding a chain for my ring before returning it. I hung the chain around my neck so that my ring would be close to my heart. I decided it would remain there until Edward was able to give it to me again - to tell me that he still loved me and forgave me for what I had done. I hoped he would understand I had done what was necessary to ensure our survival.

I took one last look around the room. It was unsalvageable. Like me. And like me, once I found everyone else we would be able to fix it. For now my time was better spent looking for Edward. I had no idea where to start but knew I had to leave anyway. I ran from the house and into the forest. My first priority was to hunt and from there I would see where the winds of fate would blow me. They had been kind enough to unite me with Edward twice before - I didn't think it was too much to hope that we would be united again. In my haste I forgot about so many things. I left the Volvo where it was, didn't look back at the house and didn't spare a second thought for Jacob.

* * *

For three months I was a nomad; wandering with no aim or purpose as I searched throughout the northern states for stories of my family - anything about a new doctor in town with his adoptive children. I drifted aimlessly from place to place becoming just another transient passing through. I never knew where I would go next. I never planned my next steps. I had thought about trying to visit Tanya's family to see if they were willing to help, but Carlisle - with a little assistance from Alice - was the one who kept track of their movements. And I wasn't sure I wanted Tanya to know that Edward was alone at the moment. She'd been nothing but nice to me on the few occasions we'd met, but Alice had told me about her prior attempts to seduce him.

Eventually, I was shattered. Emotionally and physically I was unable to search any more. Every second apart from Edward felt like a lifetime. I wondered how he had been able to stay away from me during our first separation. I knew it was only because he had thought I had moved on and was happy - but if I knew where Edward was right now there would be nothing that would stop me from rushing back into his arms. Even hiding my talent from the Volturi was not worth the agony of being away from him for a minute more. Every day that passed I hated myself and my decision a little more.

When I reached the point where I could search no further I found a remote cave in a mountain and retreated into myself. I found a place where I could find some semblance of joy - the past. I shifted back to the very beginning - to the first time I saw Edward - and watched as our life together ran on reply through my mind. When I was in the past, I could almost forget what was happening in the present. Days there felt shorter than minutes in the real world - so it was easy for weeks or months to slip by unnoticed while watching voyeuristically at my past self as she did what she did best - loved Edward. I would always come back to the present with an ache in my throat that could not be quenched. I spent day after day in the past, always surrounded by humans; I found animal blood satisfied me less and less the longer I went between feeds. Worse, my weakened state meant I began to lose control of my talent and ended up being thrown from one memory to another with no ability to select which one I would see next. I was reminded of my transition into this life - back then I had no idea how to control my ability. Now, I knew how - I just... couldn't.

I watched again and again as Edward saved me and as he fell in love with me. I watched as he left me and as he walked back into the classroom after seven years apart. I allowed the pattern to continue for too long, far too long, six months of constantly declining self-control before I finally made a decision. My first one in over nine months. I would return to Forks. I would live in my father's house and start my search again from there. I would need to get new ID's and had no idea where I would get money from, but at least I had a sense of purpose as I ran back towards the place where it had all began.


	9. Chapter 8: Returned

**Chapter 8: Returned **

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

- EPOV -

The first few days after I threw Jacob out were difficult. I spent the time trying to fix the worst of the damage the brunette had caused. I boarded up the window and returned all of the furniture to its rightful position, throwing out anything that was too badly damaged. I replaced the dust covers and swept the house to clear all the debris and mud that had been tracked through. That wasn't the difficult part though. The hard part was that despite the busy work my hands were doing there was nothing to stop me thinking, specifically thinking about _her_.

At least three times a day, I called Alice to find out if she had seen anything new. However, the most she ever saw were random flashes of the female running through the forest.

A week after I arrived, I finally went hunting for the first time. I was surprised when I crossed her scent in the forest almost immediately. I followed it without thought. I was on the trail for an hour before I noticed my phone ringing.

"Edward, please don't," Alice said.

"What?"

"Please, just go back to the house."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"If you keep going in the direction you are currently heading, I can see you leaving us for long time."

"I need to do it, Alice."

"You don't _need _to do anything." I could almost hear the eye-roll down the phone.

"I have to find her."

"I don't see you being successful though, Edward. You are not a tracker. You won't be able to find her."

I growled. "I have to try." _For my own piece of mind._

"Please, Edward?"

I remained silent but took a few more tentative steps along the scent trail.

"Look, I'm keeping an eye on her, but so far, I can't see what she's going to do. Until we know for sure can you stay with us? Please."

I reluctantly agreed and headed back to the house. Early the next morning, I packed up the last of the items that remained; the emergency cash and my mother's jewellery, before climbing into the car and driving back to JFK airport to pick up my family.

* * *

The days turned into months with no further sightings of the female. Alice kept a near constant watch on her future, but saw nothing more than occasional flashes of random towns for months. Eventually the towns became forests and caves, and the female seemed to lie prone for days at a time. But there was nothing concrete to base a search on. The one thing which gave me some hope is that Alice saw the Volturi having as little success as us. At least that meant the female couldn't be used as a pawn in Aro's planning.

During the months of silence my family had settled back into a permanent residence and integrated back into society. For once they had listened to my advice and moved to Shelton, Washington. I knew Alice had more than a little to do with the final decision and I was thankful to her for it.

Our peace was disturbed once, about eight months after we moved. The Volturi guards who were in America to search for the brunette came to visit us. They again extended Aro's offer to Alice and me, but we politely rebuked them. I wondered how many times we would have to refuse his offer before he realised we would not leave our family - or how many times he would accept our refusal before turning to other, more dangerous, options to gather us into his fold.

Nine months after our initial visit to the Volturi, Alice finally saw something concrete about the female. A decision. Through Alice, I saw her walking into a house. A house I recognised but I couldn't understand why. I frowned at the maddening hint which got me no closer to her. I realised that in order to find her from that small clue, I would have to go back to every place we had lived for the past hundred odd years to try to find that house. Alice put a stop to that plan before I even had a chance to pull out the map.

"I understand your frustration, Edward, we all do," she told me.

"You don't," I snapped. "You all have smaller pieces missing, and you have each other to fill the void."

"You have us," she said. "All of us - we're here for you."

"It's not the same," I challenged.

She shook her head sadly. "No, it's not. I know it's not. But you can't do it like this. You can't leave us for an indefinite period to chase shadows and dreams."

I groaned. She obviously knew about my night-time whisperings. About the brown eyes I saw every time I closed my eyes. Chocolate pools that I often pictured in the female's face. I knew I was combining two unique situations, but in my mind they fit together - like two lone puzzle pieces which don't appear to match at first glance but work together to complete the bigger picture. I wished I knew what the bigger picture was.

"It's not just that though, Edward, and you know it." She was referring to the visions she kept getting whenever I thought of leaving to go in search of the female - Aro's guards finding me alone and 'persuading' me to go to Italy permanently. "We're not ready to lose you like that."

I sighed, resigned to the fact that the time was not right to leave my family but I would wait for the opportune moment. But I wouldn't forget about the brunette. She was never far from my mind anyway; I constantly vacillated between desire for revenge and - without understanding why - desire for her body.

* * *

It was another four months before Alice had a second meaningful vision of the female. She saw her enrolling in Forks high school. Forks... Washington. Less than 150 miles as the crow flies - or as the vampire runs. It was all Alice could do to keep me running immediately, reminding me of my duty to keep my nature a secret from the humans we were in school with. But she couldn't delay me forever. As soon as night fell, I shot from the house and sprinted through the darkened forests. My destination was set in my mind and I ran without stop. As soon as I neared the outskirts of Forks my body took over. My feet seemed to know exactly which direction to go. My mind turned to thoughts of the female. I anticipated our meeting with fear, but with an overwhelming sensation of lust. Every cell in my body called for her, seeming to sense I was drawing closer.

I hadn't got very far into the forest around the town before I caught her scent. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. This time I would have her. My hands clenched into fists by my side as I propelled myself forward. I kept to the forest, staying clear of the Quileute treaty line. I grew angry with myself for not thinking of coming this way sooner. Jacob knew the female. The dots connected in my mind - my memory was patchy since living in Forks, and Jacob knew the female and lived in La Push which was just a skip away from Forks. Everything came back to this small town.

As I ran, I crossed a location where her scent was heavily concentrated and tinged with a hint of fresh blood. The kill was obviously recent. I breathed deeply, and felt myself growing hard – which was a reaction I had never experienced before while hunting. I had never even realised such a reaction could occur, but the combined scents ramped up my desire, making me realise it had been a while since I had hunted. I hadn't been taking as much care of myself as I probably could have - only feeding enough to avoid the temptation of snacking on a classmate. For some reason hunting held very little thrill for me, but the smell of the female mixed with blood was driving me crazy with need and desire. As my thirst battled my lust I wasn't sure which would win out.

I froze when I heard a sound. It was only then I realised the female was closer than I expected. I should have known better than to not be on guard. I had forgotten that she could bypass my ability somehow. I became enraged and driven by primal urges to protect myself and my family.

I whipped around to leap at her, watching as her honey-coloured eyes widened in surprise. Then she mouthed one word which made me stop cold - _my name_. I was dumbstruck. She knew my name, and said it with such reverence; wrapping each syllable with love as it reverberated around us. It had been a near-silent offering, but it hung between us in the air for longer than I would have thought possible.

My body twitched, driven by a strange compulsion to be near her. To touch her. I didn't understand it and it was driving me crazy so I sneered at her instead. "Who are you?"

Her face broke at my words. Sadness filled her eyes, although I knew tears would never fall. It broke my heart seeing her in such pain. Being in close proximity to her made me ever more conflicted and torn. My body battled with my mind; my heart waged war with my head.

She took a step closer to me and I stepped away instinctively.

"Please," she begged. "Can I explain?"

She raised her hands towards me. I growled at her and stepped back. I didn't know what her talent was, but after dealing with a patchy memory for so long - and knowing that she was somehow responsible - I was naturally suspicious of any move she made.

She slowly stepped towards me again, moving with grace and precision. I matched her step, keeping the space between us constant. There were so many things about her that were positively stunning up close, but it wasn't the big things I noticed, like the shape of her body underneath her simple clothes. How the amber and red highlights in her hair stood in brilliant contrast to the deep chocolate brown of her hair and were evident even in the dark of night. Instead, it was the little things that captured my interest. Like the way her hair curled when it hit her shoulders. The way her top lip was just a little bit too small to match her bottom lip. Tiny imperfections that no-one else would see, but that combined to make her even more perfect. It was as if I knew her face so well I could see these small details - even though I'd never met her before. I put it down to turning the visions Alice had seen of her over and over in my head so much that I could recognise the intricate complexity of her features.

She dropped her hands and took a step away. I felt a loss knowing she was further away than she had been before, so I stepped toward her. She tilted her head to the side and regarded me. I stopped. I couldn't approach her - but I couldn't let her leave either. She stepped to the side, but used the step to close the gap. I stepped in the opposite direction, placing us the same distance apart.

She surprised me by chuckling. "Always so stubborn," she whispered.

Her voice was low and seductive and sent my body into a frenzy I didn't recognise. I bristled at both the sensation and the assumption in her words.

"How would you know whether I am stubborn?" I challenged.

"Because, I know you, Edward," she whispered, staring into my eyes.

My body tensed, preparing to close the space between us. Instead, I took a step away from her terrified of the unknown reaction. I could only assume this... draw - the magnetism - between us was part of her talent. The other part was obviously concealing her thoughts - her true intentions. It was disconcerting not being able to read her true intentions in her mind. I was used to every mind I encountered being laid bare for me to hear. I wanted to confront her over that much at least, but wasn't sure whether I should reveal my talent just yet... if at all. I furrowed my brow as I regarded her more intently.

_You are wondering why you can't hear my thoughts aren't you?_ Her inner-voice assaulted my mind.

I took another two steps backwards, widening the gap even further. Her hand seemed to reach out for me for the briefest of seconds before she clenched it into a fist and forced it to remain by her side. The more the distance between us slowly increased, the sadder the brunette's face grew. I didn't answer her direct question - if it could be called direct when it was only asked in her mind. I knew she was asking me though - she _knew_ I could hear her. I wondered if maybe I had been wrong about everything - maybe she was never in danger from the Volturi, maybe she was a plant to lure me away from my family. I knew it wasn't above Aro to play such a game.

_Please,_ she thought.

During the time it took her to think that word her mind was open to me. I saw her and I in a tight embrace, my hand was in her hair and her lips were locked with mine. It was too much. I stepped back and turned to run, secure in my knowledge that I could outrun her easily. I was the fast one in my family - if I could beat Emmett, the female would pose no problem especially when I had a head start. I took three steps before I heard her voice, broken and small, whisper, "Edward, please."

The heartbreak in those two words almost tore me in half. But it wasn't logical. As far as I knew she posed a threat to me and my family. I shook my head to clear the sympathy that was starting to build for her. I had been in this world long enough to know that sympathy for the wrong person could get you killed. So I ran.

I could tell after a few dozen miles that she wasn't following me. Her actions confused me. Was she trying to give me _space_? I turned back towards the place I had left her, staring through the dense forest as if it would suddenly part and reveal her to me again. I already missed the presence of her smell, the sight of her face. I could only imagine what the touch of her skin would be like. My lips burned as though remembering the kiss I'd seen in her thoughts.

I took a tentative step back towards Forks. Towards her. It felt natural, easy even, to follow this path and travel back to her - which was exactly the reason I couldn't. I whipped around and started running towards my family. In the direction I knew held safety... and loneliness.

I had only taken a few strides when my mobile rang. "Alice?" I said as I placed it to my ear.

"I think you should go the other way."

"What?" I asked.

"The direction you were going before - back towards the female. I think you should go that way, but it's not really clear. Something is messing with my visions... but I _think_ you'll find something there - something you are missing."

"Are you sure?" I was wary of going back alone, now that I knew how much the female seemed to know about me. She must have done some serious reconnaissance or something.

Alice sighed. "I can't tell you for sure. All I can say... is follow your heart."

My heart had been calling for the brunette since the first glimpse I had seen of her over a year ago. "Keep an eye out, Alice, just in case."

"You know I will. And, Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful. Keep yourself safe."

I hung up the phone and ran back towards Forks with renewed enthusiasm. I felt lighter as a result of Alice's encouragement. I tried to do what she said and found that by allowing my heart to take over I no longer felt the war raging inside.

When I reached the spot where I had left the female she had already gone, but it was relatively easy to follow the fresh trail of her scent through the dense woods. It stopped at a small house on the outskirts of town. I didn't stop to think before throwing myself up the side of the house and into an open bedroom window. It was only when my feet hit the floor inside that I realised what I had done. But by then it was too late. I was trapped by my own traitorous mind.

The female was lying on a bed, hers eyes half-closed, her breathy steady and rhythmic. She was completely unarmed and seemed unconscious. I wasn't sure if it was a trap but I had to get closer to her. I tentatively stepped closer to the bed, knowing at any stage she could spring and that I had to be prepared so I wouldn't be taken off-guard. And yet, despite that knowledge, I felt something strange. I felt safe. I felt at _home_.

I reached my hand toward hers painfully slowly. The instant my fingers brushed along her skin I felt a current run through my hand. It wasn't painful but it was unexpected so I pulled my hand back. As soon as our skin had contacted something else changed in the room. Suddenly I could hear her thoughts. It was confusing because she wasn't planning an attack, she didn't even seem aware that I was in the room with her. Instead she was picturing something off. Me in the bed she was currently lying on, my arms wrapped around her, her head resting on my chest. We were talking about something. It was evident by the state of the room, compared to its current state of disrepair, she was thinking about the past - or imagining the past. But I knew that was impossible because if I had been in the room before, lying beside her, I would know. I would remember.

I staggered back as the weight of the realisation hit me. I couldn't remember. So much of my life was missing... so much was unknown. The war between my head and heart began again. My head was screaming to leave. To run and not look back. My heart was demanding answers. I wanted to know why I couldn't remember. What she had done to me. What she had taken from me. What I had done to deserve the torture she had put me through.

I crept back up to the bedside, taking her hand in mine. I gasped as the current began again, it burned my skin in an unfamiliar, but oh so fantastic, way. The vision in her mind ended with me leaning down to kiss her. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright. I scooted backwards a little, still wary of what she might be able to do. Her eyes locked with mine again and she blinked uncomprehendingly. Slowly her face and thoughts seemed to recognise I was really there and not just... a _fantasy_?

"Edward," she breathed. "You came back?"

I stared at the relief on her features, listened to the thoughts of _love_ in her mind, and wanted to know just one thing.

"What the hell did you do to me?" 


	10. Chapter 9: Reload

**Chapter 9: Reload**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

- BPOV -

When I arrived back in Forks I ran straight for Charlie's old house. Although it was in Jacob's name, he had told me that it would always be my house. He'd made that clear as soon as Cain had moved out. I hoped he still felt that way even after I abandoned him at my old home nine months ago, but I couldn't cross onto the reservation to find out, so I just had to risk it.

The first meeting with Jacob was a little tense, but he understood. He knew what it would feel like for him if suddenly Harriett was to disappear. He knew he would hunt to the ends of the Earth to find her, so although he was still upset with me for running when he'd told me he was coming, we were able to put it past us. But then he'd dealt one of the biggest blows I had received since Alice had seen the Volturi coming. He told me Edward had arrived back at the house less than a day after I had left it. If I had just waited around for twenty-four hours, maybe less, I would have been able to fix this situation a year ago. I begged him to show me the memory, to show me that Edward was safe and was... happy, but the past showed me that Edward wasn't happy. He was full of rage, he lashed out at Jacob - throwing him from the house.

One statement Edward had made stood out amongst all the others. _"I mean, if she is your friend, than you should be able to give her this warning. Tell her someone is coming for her. They will find her, and when they do, they will corrupt her or destroy her. The Volturi think they can use her to get to me, but I have no interest in joining their guard and nothing will lure me to them. She needs to go into hiding and stay hidden."_

I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure whether chasing my family would put me - or them - in harm's way or whether reuniting with them while the Volturi were still hunting for me would be in anyone's best interest. I wasn't sure and didn't know how to decide. I spent days, then weeks, then months, in debate. Eventually, I knew it was time. Time to stop wallowing in self-pity, and instead turn my focus on finding my family, but I knew that in order to do that I would need to go out into society. I would need a cover story. I enrolled in high school as a senior. According to the fake ID I had secured with the last of the emergency cash I had procured from the Cullen's house in Forks I was eighteen, old enough to live on my own. Jacob helped me spread a rumour about the arrival of Charlie's granddaughter. Not that it mattered because Alice was right - no one was ever interested enough to know the full truth, they survived instead on a small amount of scandal and gossip.

I knew that registering in school would mean I would need to hunt more frequently. In the months I had been back in Forks - hiding out in my own house, pretending not to exist and living in the past because it was too painful to make a choice in the present - I had neglected my needs because hunting was too painful. It held too many reminders of _him_. But in the early hours of the morning following my registration I knew I couldn't deny myself any longer. I was going to be too close to the students for too long a period. I had a perfect record when it came to human blood and I didn't want to break it now, not while I started the hunt for my family.

I was in the forest behind the house, trying to find enough sustenance in the rapidly declining wilderness, when I heard a noise to my right. I instinctively pulled my shield tight around my mind. I spun around toward the sound. I immediately felt like I was hallucinating because I saw _him_. I couldn't believe he was in front of me. After just over thirteen months apart - he was _really _there.

"Edward," I whispered in shock.

He froze in his hunting crouch. He was poised to spring - at me. His hand reached out for me, giving me a small amount of hope that maybe, just maybe, he knew me on some level. But then he clenched his fingers into fist and forced it by his side. "Who are you?" he asked venomously.

I felt any hope I had fall away. My heart broke hearing his beautiful voice issue those three words. I didn't even think before I took a step closer to him. He retreated, hissing as he went.

"Please, can I explain?" I pleaded with him. I raised my hands to show him, to demonstrate my ability.

He growled at me. His eyes were filled with hate and rage, but there was something familiar buried at the back of them. Love. It was that love which called to me like a siren song. I took another step towards him and he took another step backwards. He looked as if the last thirteen months had been difficult on him, but I didn't understand that - he at least had the luxury of not being able to remember a love so strong it tore me in half to think of losing it.

I saw his eyes run trails across my body, but the way my body reacted I could have felt the path of his gaze even if I'd had my eyes shut. Despite the lingering glances though, there was no recognition... and no backing down. He wouldn't let me explain. I dropped my hands to my side and clenched my fists. I stepped backwards, giving him the space he so clearly wanted, but he surprised me by matching my backwards retreat with a step forward.

I stepped to the side, closing the distance between us ever so slightly. It was something Laurent had done to me the day in the meadow, before the wolves had attacked him. Edward matched my step, but in the opposite direction. He seemed determined to keep the exact same distance between us - down to the inch.

I chuckled involuntarily. "Always so stubborn," I whispered. I had been living in the past so often for the past thirteen months I had fresh reminders of all his stubborn acts during our time together.

"How would you know whether I am stubborn?" he whispered dangerously.

"Because, I know you, Edward," I whispered. I met his eyes, trying to communicate soundlessly the connection between us that I knew he could feel, even if he didn't know why he felt it. I didn't want to drop my shield through and inadvertently think of something that would frighten him away faster.

I watched him closely, relishing in seeing his stunning features up close and personal again His eyebrows furrowed in a gesture I knew. I managed to stifle the chuckle when I realised he was trying to figure out why he couldn't read my mind.

I dropped my shield long enough to ask him a question. _You are wondering why you can't hear my thoughts aren't you?_

He took two steps backwards as my words hit him. His face wore open shock... and hurt. I wanted to erase the pain and my arm reached for him instinctively before I remembered the situation and forced it to my side.

He stepped back again. It hurt to see him retreating from me as if I was a stranger, or worse - a threat. I pictured the times when we were happy. I needed him back. _Please? _I dropped my shield and begged him silently.

He shook his head slightly, as if to clear a bad memory. Then... he ran. I knew I had no chance of catching him, he was the fastest vampire I knew. But even if I thought I had a chance of catching up with him it was hopeless because there was no way I could move. My body was frozen by a pain so binding that I couldn't move at all, except to whisper, "Edward, please."

I waited, but he didn't come back. When feeling finally returned to my body I ran back to the house. I climbed through the bedroom window, unwilling to risk being seen going through the front door. I kicked the wall, adding yet another impressive hole to the already Swiss-cheese like plaster-board. I had to wipe the pain of our encounter out of my head to clear it enough to think - to be able to track his scent. I decided I would start in the morning - I would follow his scent for as long as I could and hope to high heaven he didn't cross a stream or anything that might make me loose his trail.

I decided in the meantime to go back into my happy place - the place where Edward was by my side. I lay on the bed and closed my eyes. I knew for all intents and purposes I would have looked asleep to anyone intruding. I pulled my shield up and concentrated on keeping it up as I shifted back into the past.

_Edward was on my bed, with me curled on his chest. I remembered this night clearly. It was the first night Edward stayed in my room - or at least the first night I knew he was staying there. It was the night after we declared our feelings in the meadow. So much had changed that day - I knew I would never be the same again. I sank into the viewpoint of my past self. Edward linked his fingers with mine, and I could have sworn both parts of myself felt the familiar current pass through my hand._

_Being in the memory was hard. I listened as Edward and I talked. I watched him as he watched me sleep. I saw him brush the hair off my face before leaning over and, taking great care to ensure he was in control first, kissing my forehead gently._

I shifted back to the present. I didn't know at what stage my shield fell down, but I knew my mind was currently wide open and Edward was in the room - clutching my hand and staring at me. I blinked to clear the fantasy that my mind had created. Occasionally when opening my eyes from the past I could see a lingering image of Edward's face. I looked down to my hand, at his fingers linked tightly to mine - almost as if he never wanted to let it go - and I realised it wasn't a dream. He was really there.

"Edward," I breathed in relief. "You came back?"

Edward stared incredulously at my face for a few seconds before dropping my hand. "What the hell did you do to me?" he demanded.

I sighed. "I promise, I'll explain everything. I just can't right now." I knew I couldn't risk Alice seeing a vision of my revelations to Edward and not understanding what was happening. I would have to give everyone's memories back at just the right time. I couldn't risk undoing what I had done in order to protect them. But there was also no way in hell I was going to let Edward get away from me again. I knew now that we were stronger as a team - we were weakened every time we were broken apart. We'd been apart when I'd been hurt by Jacob, when Laurent had hunted me, when Victoria had come for her revenge and when Cain had shot me. But above all else, I knew that I would rather face death hand-in-hand with Edward than have to endure a single moment without him.

"Tell me," he insisted. "Now."

_I can't_, I told him mentally. I couldn't help how much love and relief coloured my thoughts.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Follow me," I whispered.

I walked to the window before offering my hand back to him. He stared at it and I could almost see his thought process written on his face. He didn't trust me - and I was giving him no reason to. I sighed, knowing I would need to give him some sort of sign, something to gain his trust. I reached up to my neck, giving the chain around my neck a brief tug. I heard the gold snap instantly and closed my hand around the ring that I hadn't been parted from in the more than twenty years that it had been in my possession. I held out my clenched fist in offering. He held his open palm out to receive it.

_This is my most prized possession in the whole world. I haven't parted from it in over twenty years, but I will give it to you as a token of trust. You can give it back when, and if, you want to._

I dropped the ring into his palm.

He stared at it in amazement for a moment before growing angry. "What the hell are you doing..."

I pressed my finger to my lips. "Please, Edward, you need to listen to me. We can't talk about this now. I promise to answer every question you have - although you might not have many questions once I've finished my explanation."

He furrowed his brow at me, looking between me and the ring.

I sighed and showed him a memory - just a partial memory, a flash at the most - of him down on one knee as he offered the ring to my past self.

He shook his head in denial. "What the hell?"

"Please..." I stopped, the words kept sticking in my throat. "Please just trust me."

He closed his eyes, deep in an internal debate. When he opened them again he nodded slightly and my legs almost buckled from the magnitude of the relief I felt.

"Thank you," I whispered, reaching out for his hand. He stowed the ring away in his pocket. I wondered if I would get it back from there - or whether my revelations would cause irreparable damage to our relationship but put the thoughts out of my head as quickly as I could. His fingers linked with mine. I stifled a moan at his touch. After so many months apart, it was almost heaven to have any sort of contact again. It wasn't until I felt his grip loosen that I realised my shield was still down. I closed my eyes in embarrassment. It had been so many years since I had felt self-conscious around Edward. We had grown so comfortable and confident around each other there wasn't a single thing we weren't able to discuss with one another.

I led him out of the window and into the forest behind the house. It was still dark enough that prying neighbours wouldn't be able to see us. I ran in straight to the Quileute line.

Edward pulled my arm as we closed the miles. "But that's the way to..."

_La Push,_ I thought to him. _I know... please - just trust me. I won't break the treaty._

"You know about that?"

_I know everything about you._

"How?" He stopped and yanked on my arm, pulling me to a sudden stop. I twisted and narrowly avoided crashing into him.

_Not yet. Please?_

"I'm not moving until I get answers," he said.

I could tell he was being serious. I looked anxiously towards Jacob's land. I wanted a wolf nearby to cloud Alice's vision and give me some privacy as I told Edward everything. But I didn't want to leave Edward and risk him running away.

"Who are you... to me?" he asked in a quiet whisper.

I closed my eyes. I had no idea how to answer that question. _I'm the love of your existence even though you can't remember a single thing about me. _"Bella," I said in response.

His hands came to my face. It was not quite the loving gesture the way he used to do it, but it wasn't threatening or painful either. He forced me to look at him.

"Open your eyes," he demanded quietly.

I did as he commanded and found myself to be inches away from him. I breathed in his heavenly scent. I met his eyes and wanted to burst into tears but I knew they would never fall. I wanted to confess everything to him and have him tell me he forgave me. I wanted to kiss him. I needed him desperately.

_Don't react_, I thought. _I will show you everything, but you mustn't react. Your family might be in danger if you do_.

He seemed to regard my face and my eyes for a minute. Then he nodded.

I raised my hands slowly, not that I really needed to use them, but I found they helped me focus on the information I was providing. I shared with him the memory of our first meeting at Forks High School. I gave him the memory back, allowing him to remember how he felt. I watched the various emotions play out on his face, fear, then amazement, then anger and finally sorrow. I offered the next memory.

One by one, I returned to him his memories of our life together. Each time I purposefully picked the memory and gave it back to him, watching closely for any sign that indicated whether he would forgive me or not.

My breathing grew more shallow and his grip grew a little tighter as each memory was shared. Finally I gave him two memories of my own; one of Alice's vision, of why I did what I did and the other the pain I felt when I actually had to take his memories away.

He issued a low growl. I closed my eyes as the sound ripped my heart apart. "How could you?"

I wanted to hang my head, but it was still firmly clasped between his hands.

"Do you know how bad the last thirteen months have been for me?"

I shook my head as best as I could. _I'm sorry._

"_Sorry_? You took away the most important thing in my life - and didn't even leave me any reminders - and all you can say is _sorry_?"

_What else could I do?_


	11. Chapter 10: Sorrow

**Chapter 10: Sorrow**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

- EPOV -

_I'm sorry._

I was angry. Every memory, every moment of my life with Bella had flooded back into my mind in a series of flashes. I could remember everything about her, about me and about _us. _I was furious. I was annoyed with myself for not being able to remember the one thing that was most important in my life. The one thing that I valued higher than anything else - even myself. I was upset with Alice for taking Bella away and making her feel forced into making the choices she had. I was frustrated with Bella for being the one who had taken herself away. "Sorry? You took away the most important thing in my life - and didn't even leave me any reminders - and all you can say is _sorry_?"

_What else could I do? _Her internal 'voice' was so full of pain I couldn't help but feel terrible for her.

"Anything!" I hissed. I was still angry but I tried to calm down. I had seen her thoughts when she'd made the decision; she had given me that memory too. She honestly thought this was the best path to tread. I wondered if she still felt that way. I tried to put myself in her position. I had endured thirteen months of missing memories, of not knowing the anguish I would have felt had I known of my loss. Just thinking about Bella's absence in my life now was an ache that ran through my entire being and rendered me almost immobile. I knew well enough what living without her was like. I had done it for seven years after I left her, thinking it was the best thing for her. Bella had lived with that agony for the past thirteen months. Her mind was currently wide open to me and all of her thoughts were coloured with regret and pain. Sorry wasn't strong enough a word to cover how she felt, but it was the only one she had available. I closed my eyes and let her pain overtake me. I wanted her to share it, it helped temper my anger and still my tongue, ensuring I wouldn't say anything to worsen the situation or push her away.

It wasn't until I opened my eyes again that I realised I had pulled her into a tight embrace. It felt right to be this close to her. I didn't doubt a single thing she had shown me. I could still remember my thoughts, doubts and suspicions during our separation. I knew if she were trying to plant false memories, she wouldn't have left those thoughts intact. But it was more than that. I just _knew_ it. Every part of my body knew who she was, had _always_ known who she was, even when my mind was coming up blank.

She began to sob tearlessly against me. I held her head and shushed her. "Bella," I whispered. "It will be all right. Shh, we're together now."

_I was so worried that you would be angry. That you'd hate me and never be able to forgive me. I was afraid that you'd send me away forever._

"I _am _angry," I said. I felt her start to pull away, so I held on tighter. "But not at you, or I should say not _only _at you. I do understand why you did what you did - I just wish you would have trusted me more. Talked to me about it."

_I couldn't. Every decision I made, every choice, made the situation worse. This was the only thing I could do - to ensure your safety._

"Alice could only see the outcomes affected by _your_ choice. Together, we might have been able to come to some other solution."

She shook her head. _I don't think so._

I grew frustrated with her arguing, until I realised that she needed the belief that the decision was the only one she could make to be able to live with herself - to justify the pain she had been through.

I put my finger under her chin and tipped her face towards mine. "Don't worry, Bella. I could _never_ send you away. You are far too precious to me."

I felt her body react reflexively to relax into me. Relief flooded her mind and she closed her eyes and raised onto her tiptoes. I knew what she was seeking and I was more than willing to give it to her. I pulled her up into me, ducking my head at the same time. My lips met hers with a crash. What began as a desire for a small token of the love I still felt quickly turned into a desperate need. Thirteen months of repressed desire came crashing to the surface. I pushed hard against her body as my tongue crept into her mouth. I stepped forward against her, pulling her body into me. I grabbed her hips and ground them into mine. She moaned loudly, the sound spurring me on. I backed her up until we crashed into a tree. We hit it with such force it cracked along the trunk, but thankfully it remained upright giving me something to pin her against to stop our forward momentum. I needed to have her pressed hard against me. I needed her to fill every one of my senses until I could take no more. Her body and mind both called for me. I let my emotions take over. My anger and remorse mixed with relief and love and all of it came through me and into my kiss.

I pressed myself between her legs, wrapping her legs around my waist one at a time.

_I've missed you, _she thought. _So desperately_,

"I know." I could hear it in her every thought. "I would say I missed you too, but..."

_I know_. Her regret was palpable again.

I pulled away from her a little and kissed her forehead before resting my head against it. I needed her so desperately, but not now, not like this. We needed to fix us before we could take this any further.

_I was so scared I had lost you forever... I couldn't bear to think of it. If anything happened to you._ She shuddered.

"You were the one who was alone. I always had the others. It must have been dreadful for you. If anything had happened to you..."

_You wouldn't have cared. You wouldn't even have known. _

I shook my head in disagreeance. "I would have felt the loss. I've been drawn to you, ever since that day... the day you left... I've searched for you. Even when I didn't know who you were... what you meant to me... I looked for you."

She shook her head in disbelief.

"It's true," I whispered. "See for yourself."

I felt her mind seek mine out until I felt myself beneath her shield. I pulled up the memory of my hunt for her in the forest near our old house, of finding the blue blouse and growing aroused by her scent. Of my quiet whisperings to the brown-eyed fantasy girl I had created in my mind - who was a mix between Bella as a human and Bella's vampire self. I watched the scene through her eyes.

_Edward lay on the ground, his face was filled with confusion and frustration. His hand gently stroked his straining erection, but there was no urgency to his movements. His eyes were closed and he seemed concerned._

_"I don't understand what's happening," he whispered to the empty air around him. "I have found so many things that I cannot explain. I don't know if I can talk to any of my family about how I feel. I just don't think they'll understand._

_"I feel like a part of my heart is missing. It hasn't beaten for over one hundred years, and yet it feels like it's out of step. _I_ feel like I am out of step - with everything. I wish I could remember more of my past._

_"Things are out of place. I have possessions I've never needed before, but things which I've always relied on are gone. My journals haven't been touched in years."_

_I was so sad for him. My heart broke as I watched him whisper his fears to the night. I knew why his journals had remained untouched. He'd explained it to me long ago. At first he had grown fascinated by me. He spent his nights watching me sleep rather than documenting his thoughts. Then, once we'd fallen in love, he had continued to spend his nights with me. After he left me, he couldn't stand to think his thoughts, let alone write them on page. He'd often told me they were the darkest years of his existence. Darker even than his time away from his family - then he had tried to be a vigilante, but at least he was able to hold onto hope. After he'd left me, hope left him. Since our reunion, he had shared his innermost thoughts and fantasies with me. We'd kept each other occupied at night and he'd had no need of his journals._

_Seeing him so heart-broken, even without a reminder of our love, pained me._

I could see what Bella was going to do. I had to stop her. I hated what happened to me - and her - but I could see that it had stopped Aro from finding out the extent of her talent. Even if it had sent the Volturi after her anyway.

_I wanted to give him something. I clenched my fists, getting ready to return his memories then and there. To stop all the nonsense before it got worse._

I tried to get her attention, desperately calling out to her with my mind and my voice. I even tried to pull up another memory to dislodge her from the one she was in. It was too close to the Volturi visit to arrange another plan.

_As I began to reach toward Edward, I felt a tugging. It was like an urgent call for attention._

I took heart in the fact she could sense me, at least on some level. "Bella," I whispered softly into her ear, calling for her attention. "Bella, come back to me."

I felt the shift in her mind that indicated her return.

"Why did you stop me?" she whispered. "I could fix this." _I could stop it from happening._

"We have to talk, to work out what's going to happen first. It's too dangerous."

"But you've suffered so much."

"As have you, my love. But at least you are safe. You are alive. Beyond all hopes and dreams, we are together. At the moment, your safety is my main concern."

"Edward, we have an opportunity to fix this."

"Not if it risks your life. We can't make any rash decisions... that's what got us here."

She dropped her head onto my shoulder and regret filled her again. "I'm so sorry."

I wrapped my arms around her and let her sob into me. I knew she needed the release. "Come, my love, let's get you home."

I led her back along the path we had travelled. I wasn't sure why she had led me out here to reveal the truth, so I asked her. "Why didn't you tell me all of this back at Charlie's house?" 

_I was worried_, she replied. _About Alice. I thought the wolves might have been able to help me stop her from seeing anything._ Her mind turned to thoughts of Alice, and I saw exactly why she was worried - and why she had planned to have a wolf present when she did her big reveal.

"You think there might be issues?" I asked.

_I had no idea how you would take it. I was concerned you would think I was lying, or that you would be so upset with me you would send me away. But I allowed myself to hope, just a little, that you might forgive me and I was worried about what would happen when she saw you have a turn-around about me without knowing the reason. Because..._ she paused, seemingly unsure how to continue. _I'm not sure whether I should return memories of me to the rest of your family. I mean my talent is what got us into this mess - the more people who know about it, the more dangerous it is for everyone._

I shook my head. "The Volturi want me, and Alice, just as much. At the moment, you are just a tool in Aro's game, simply a means to an end."

_That will change when he finds out what I can do._

I shook my head. "No, my love. It won't. Because he will never find out."

Grief, paranoia and stress all radiated off her lovely body. I wanted to help rid her of her demons. I could tell thirteen months alone had damaged her already fragile self-esteem. There was nothing I could do or say that would make it up to her. It was at that point I let go of the last remaining shreds of my anger. She didn't deserve my anger, but neither would she want my pity. She did what she thought was necessary to save me - to save our family. And hadn't I just stopped her from fixing it? Didn't I know all too well the pain of making a decision to hurt yourself in order to protect the one you love? Of course, neither my choice, nor hers, worked out the way we hoped.

I knew the only thing she wanted from me was the one thing she deserved more than anything - my love and my forgiveness. She had forgiven me when I had made a bad choice that had hurt us both. I could do nothing less in return.

As we walked side-by-side back to her house, I linked my hand with hers. It was such a small symbol, but I hoped she understood what it meant. I wasn't going to leave - I wasn't going to run.

As soon as we reached Bella's house she walked around the front, unlocked the door and trudged inside. I wanted to sneak up the side of the house once again as a reminder of our early years together - now that I remembered them - but I couldn't let her out of my sight. I didn't know if I would ever be able to again, bad things happened whenever we were apart.

I followed Bella into the bedroom, as she turned back towards me her eyes were still downcast and I could tell she was unsure of my ultimate reaction. I knew there was one thing I could do which would prove to her how I felt - how I would always feel.

"Bella, you gave something to me earlier," I said, pulling the ring from my pocket. I knew I couldn't do it the way I would want - with a grand gesture and down on one knee - because there was too much risk Alice would see and I understood Bella's concerns there. Alice would question why I was suddenly madly in love with this beguiling female when only days ago I was determined to hunt her down to protect my family. I felt sickened thinking about the way I had thought of Bella during our time apart. Guilt that I could ever have been angry with her ate away at me. I held the ring into my hand and grasped Bella's hand. I gently slide my mother's ring back onto her finger where it belonged. "It's yours, it will always be yours."

She closed her eyes and sighed loudly. I could hear the relief echoing from her mind in the sound. My phone started to trill and Bella jumped. I ran my fingers along her cheek. "It's alright, love," I assured her, suspecting I knew who it was.

"Edward, what's going on?" Alice asked, her usually chipper voice low and restrained.

I nodded slightly to Bella, answering her thoughts as she asked whether it was Alice. I had no idea what to say to Alice on the other end of the phone. I knew she wouldn't understand if I told her that I had rediscovered my reason for existing. "It's complicated."

"What's complicated?" she hissed. "The fact that you were making out with the female you were hunting? Maybe it's the fact that you just put an engagement ring on her finger? Or is it what you are going to do next?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes. I didn't even want to know what she was seeing - I could imagine. "Alice, I'm safe. She's not going to hurt me."

Bella look aghast at the suggestion.

"How do you know that?" Alice sounded concerned, her voice dropping lower again.

"I just do. I trust her."

Bella gave me a small smile but her thoughts gave away the depth of the relief she felt as I uttered the words. Each action or statement which confirmed I was staying seemed to solidify her confidence.

"Edward, I think she might be _talented_. I've never seen someone's future turn around so fast."

I smiled. I realised how to get Alice to drop it - at least for now. "What do you see in the future now?" I asked.

"Nothing," she muttered.

"Nothing?" I asked, pretending to be shocked. I could imagine what she was seeing. I could remember all of my relationship with Bella now and we were insatiable when it came to each other.

"Nothing I _want_ to see," she clarified.

I stifled my chuckle. "Is there any danger?"

"None that I can see."

"Why don't you look harder?" I knew she wouldn't.

"Look, Edward, just be careful, please? There's something more going on with the female, I know there is."

"It's Bella."

"What?" Alice asked distractedly.

"Her name is Bella, and you two are going to be good friends."

"I thought I was the one who could see the future," Alice replied dryly.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Alice, but please just trust me. She's not going to hurt me, or any of our family. You know that, and you'll be the first to know if that's going to change."

She growled and mumbled for a moment before acquiescing and hanging up.

"I don't want to cause problems for your family," Bella said.

I ran my fingers along her cheek. "They _will_ find it hard to trust my turn-around. We've had too much experience with talented vampires for them not to wonder what could have happened to make me love you so deeply so soon. They may think it's some form of brainwashing, but in time I think they'll understand."

I ran my palm along her cheek and tipped her face to give me access to her sweet lips. I kissed her again, but this time there was no anger or regret. There was only love. I gently lifted her and carried her across to the bed, lying her down on top of the comforter. I noticed the wall closest to the bed had coped a battering but I decided not to ask her about that just yet. Instead, I peppered light kisses across her jaw.

"I love you, Bella," I whispered. I wanted her to know that was the reason I was doing what I was. It wasn't an attempt to fix anything, it was just a desperate need to show her physically how I felt. How I had always felt.

She whimpered softly as my mouth moved from her jaw to her neck. I continued kissing her as I gently peeled off her shirt, revealing her creamy white skin. I worked slowly, not in any hurry to rush the rediscovery of her body. I needed to take my time. To show her that I still revered her. That I still cherished her. I ran my mouth from her collarbone to her breasts. I hummed as I tasted her for the first time in over a year. I could clearly recall the taste I had imagined when fantasising about her, it had nothing on her actual taste. It would be impossible to dream up a scent as delectable and hers, or a taste as wonderful.

I ran my tongue across her nipple and a shiver ran through her skin.

_I love you. I want you. I need you. I don't want to be away from you ever again._ Bella's mind ran on repeat, echoing my own thoughts.

I brought my lips back to hers again, kissing her deeply. My tongue found its way to hers and they danced between our mouths in a slow, scintillating tango. I caught her lower lip with my teeth and gave it a gentle tug, earning a low groan. I rubbed my groin across her apex and she whimpered louder. I climbed off her, never letting my mouth leave her lips or my hands part from her skin. I slid my hands across her stomach and to the waistband of her jeans. I undid her clothes as quickly as I could. I wanted to give myself to her slowly - but my need was too great.

I stepped away from her only long enough to remove the remnants of her clothes and the last of my own barriers. I climbed back up the bed towards her. I didn't pause as I captured her mouth with my own again and her body with my arms. I wrapped myself around her tightly before pressing my pelvis forward to meet hers. She tilted her hips and I felt myself slide into her. We hissed in unison at the sensation of pleasure that ran through us. We had barely been separated since discovering each other intimately - certainly never for so many months - so it felt right being back together. Like pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly together.

Holding onto Bella, I twisted until she was on top - in the position of power. I was hers and hers alone. There had never been - nor would there ever be - another woman I wanted or needed as much as her. She took control quickly, shifting her hips in slow, steady movement that sent my desire skyrocketing. Her fingers intertwined with mine. Her eyes met mine. They burned a rich golden colour, echoing her choice - her continued devotion to our lifestyle despite not having our influence or support. It must have been dreadfully hard for her to retain so much control when she was so alone.

"My beautiful, strong, resilient girl," I whispered. "How could I ever survive a day without you."

_You'll never have to again,_ she thought. _I would rather face death by your side than have to live through another separation._

I nodded. I knew precisely what she meant.


	12. Chapter 11: Familiar threat

**Chapter 11: Familiar threat**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

The feeling of Edward's hands on my skin was like a salve on sunburn. It eased the ache I'd felt since the day I had left him. To have him issue words of forgiveness and hand me back my ring so readily inflated my heart and sent it soaring into the stratosphere.

Then as he began to move inside me, I felt his love echoing in his every move. His lips softly caressed mine as they danced tenderly together, wordlessly speaking of our mutual love and desire. I needed him now more than at any other time in my existence. I called to him in my mind, telling him how much I wanted him - how much I loved him.

He rolled us both over until I was in control of our movements. I linked my hands with his and stared into his eyes. There was a new depth to the love I saw there. It was almost as if he had a new understanding of something.

"My beautiful, strong, resilient girl," he whispered. "How could I ever survive a day without you?"

The pain which ran as an undercurrent to his words hurt me. I'd always known that I would rather face physical pain than see Edward suffer, but until that moment, I had never truly understood why - we were an extension of one another. Cut him, and I would bleed. Mortally wound me, and he would suffer the death. _You'll never have to again, _I thought. _I would rather face death by your side than have to live through another separation._

He nodded at my thoughts. Then he twisted us back around, taking back the power. He thrust against me powerfully. I lost the ability to think clearly, to focus on anything but him and his topaz eyes burning into mine. He kept our hands linked as he brought me closer to fulfilment. I had missed everything about him dreadfully and the physical closeness I had now was almost too much to handle. He dipped his head to press small kisses to my throat, each one earning him a new sound as he continued his relentless rhythm.

I could feel our souls colliding, communicating with a shared voice as we raced towards our combined heaven. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist, deepening the angle and he groaned in response. I yearned to have his mouth on mine and then suddenly, it was. His kiss was full of passion and want. There was not a single piece of himself that he was holding back. To have him back so utterly when I had been almost certain of suffering some devastation was pure bliss. Combined with my overwhelming need for him, it was too much. My world simultaneously imploded and exploded as I came apart beneath him with a cry of primal ecstasy.

I continued to move in rhythm with his body as his own pleasure peaked and he released inside me. The absolute love and devotion I felt - from him and for him - in that minute was almost enough to bring me to tears - if I were able to shed them.

He lowered his body so that he completely surrounded me. His arms pinned mine to my sides as his lips nestled into the crook of my neck. There, he whispered his love and desire again and again, his words matching my emotions.

Eventually, he lifted his torso off mine, staring deep into my eyes. He lifted one hand and traced one finger along my cheek. His finger came to rest against my eye with a feather-like touch.

"How did you manage to resist," he asked.

_I couldn't... I didn't... I just didn't want to disappoint you._

He planted soft kisses on each eye in turn, my lids fluttering shut to allow him access as I saw what he was going to do. "You could never disappoint me. Amaze me, yes... disappoint... never."

He closed his eyes as his face lined with worry. "What are we going to do now?" he mused. "We have to tell the others. They are going to begin to wonder why I am spending so much time with you."

I sighed. "I know," I said. "But they can't know." _About my talent_, I added mentally.

He sighed. "Why does it have to be this way?" he growled.

I flinched at his words.

His finger traced along my cheek again. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to hurt you. I just wish I knew what to do to make this better. I just wish we could be together and happy."

I nodded. It was a right royal mess. I had only just enrolled in Forks High, I wasn't sure how they would react if I just didn't turn up anymore, but I also knew I couldn't let Edward out of my sight.

"I think we need to go back to see our family," he declared. "Whatever happens from here is going to affect them."

Fear gripped me, sending chills up my spine and tightening my throat. Despite only hunting hours earlier the burn in my throat roared to life, the stress of the day depleting my energy levels. Eventually, I nodded my agreement. He was right - anything that happened was going to affect the others. He kissed me once more, soft and slow, and full of passion, before climbing out of the bed and dressing himself.

As I was dressing, I heard him issue a chuckle. I turned to see him bent over near the wall I had been using as my personal punching bag.

"Do I need to ask?" he said, pointing at the holes.

I shrugged. "I've been here without you for too long." I wasn't sure that he would understand what I meant. "It hurt."

He nodded and then held his arms out for me. I stepped into them quickly, tucking tightly into his chest. He rested his chin on my head and enclosed me with his arms. "I know. I've lived through it to remember."

I felt him offering up a memory and I shifted towards it.

_I looked around the room. It was full of boxes, each of which had a thick layer of dust. It was obvious they hadn't been touched in years. It was cold and lifeless. In the middle of the room, Edward was curled in Rosalie's lap on the floor. He shook tearlessly against her comforting arms. Mostly he was just issuing gut-wrenching, chest-raking sobs, but occasionally my name slipped from his lips; usually followed by a lament about me. He cursed himself for falling in love with me. He cursed himself for letting me go. Rosalie stroked his hair gently, issuing soft words of comfort. She told him she understood. She whispered that he had done the right thing - but she never once told him that everything would be all right._

I recognised it as a memory of our time apart. He was showing me that he understood the pain I had been living for the past thirteen months. Except he lived with it for seven years.

I shifted back to the present.

"It's not the answer," he whispered to me. "Being apart isn't the answer for us. We both know that now."

I nodded.

"We're stronger together."

_I love you_, I told him silently.

"And I you."

He broke off our contact. "Ladies first?" he said, indicating the window.

I stepped past him and leapt from the window. I landed softly less than a second before he landed beside me. We linked hands and ran.

Edward raced just in front of me, leading us towards our family's house. We ran without stress or fear. Instead, we took the moment to revel in being together. We existed in the moment running for pure thrill and exhilaration it offered. It had been a long time since I had felt so free - over thirteen months in fact.

Suddenly, Edward skidded to a halt, pulling me to a stop beside him.

"Stop," he ordered, before stepping in front of me protectively. He crouched low and issued a long menacing growl.

I froze because I realised that the Volturi must have found us. It was the only thing that explained his reaction.

"It won't work, Alice," he hissed.

I whipped my head toward him. He was reacting this way because of our family?

I turned my head in the direction he was looking and saw Alice lurking in the trees. I tensed as she stepped out toward us. I suddenly, and unexpectedly, felt calm in the face of her - which meant Jasper was around somewhere too. I quickly scanned the tree line for him but I couldn't find him.

Edward took a step back closer to me. He growled again as Alice moved forward.

She shot him an apologetic look before fixing me with a steely gaze. "It's for the best, Edward."

I shook my head disbelievingly as another threatening snarl issued from Edward's chest.

Alice turned her gaze back to him, apologetically. "She's brainwashed you or something. You're not being yourself right now."

"How would you know? You don't know the real me. The me I am when I'm with her."

Alice scoffed. I watched as they began to have a silent conversation.

* * *

- EPOV -

"It won't work, Alice," I hissed. I couldn't believe she was even contemplating doing what she had in her mind. I turned my mind to listening to Emmett and Jasper's thoughts. I could hear them both circling around. Jasper was focused on keeping Alice safe while Emmett circled around toward Bella.

I felt and heard Bella's confusion behind me and I wanted to reassure her, but I couldn't - there was nothing I could tell her to comfort her that wouldn't be a lie and I wasn't prepared to lie to her.

I growled a warning to keep Emmett back, to keep Jasper where he was and keep Alice at bay. Alice stared icily at Bella, her thoughts consumed with fear for me. "It's for the best, Edward."

_No_, Bella's internal voice practically screamed. This wasn't what she had wanted to happen - but it was something she had feared might. I should have listened to her fear. I cursed myself for not allowing her to follow through with her original plan of going to the wolves before she told me. She knew our family as well as I did - sometimes even better.

I snarled at Alice, warning her to back-off.

Alice stared at me, imploring me to understand. "She's brainwashed you or something. You're not being yourself right now."

"How would you know? You don't know the real me. The me I am when I'm with her."

_That's what I mean_, Alice berated me internally. _You've spent one afternoon with her - and suddenly she knows you better than us?_

I could feel the hurt in Alice's thoughts, but I couldn't let it sway me. Emmett was closing in on Bella, he was hell-bent on removing her from my side. They hoped that by removing me from her proximity it would break whatever spell she had cast over me.

"How do you see your plan shaping up, Alice?" I asked bitterly.

_I can't see past certain... decisions_, she thought, turning her eyes briefly to Bella. I could see that she thought their plan's failure was entirely because they hadn't found a way to be persuasive enough with Bella.

"I won't let you touch her," I growled.

You would choose her over your family? Alice asked, shocked.

"Every time," I said.

I shifted to my right to be more effective at blocking Emmett but I was careful to keep Alice in sight too. I heard the plan playing through the minds of my three siblings. Alice would distract me while Emmett snuck up from one side. He would then grab Bella as Jasper and Alice grabbed me. I couldn't believe they were trying to sneak up on a mind-reader. They really were losing their touch - or they thought I had lost mine.

I took another step toward the direction Emmett was coming from. I knew it left my back open to Jasper, but he wasn't my primary concern. If I could just stop Emmett from reaching Bella, nothing else would matter.

I turned to wrap Bella protectively in my arms. If I could just hold on tight enough we would be okay. I just needed to get everyone to stop for one minute. I needed them to listen to me, to understand.

Emmett made his charge and I couldn't help myself. He was hell-bent on reaching Bella so I threw myself in his path. We collided with a deafening thud. It was then that I realised my mistake. Their plan had been to play on my abilities to get me to launch at Emmett. His arms closed tightly around me and at the last second, I saw the true plan. The reality behind the mask they were presenting. I struggled against Emmett's hold, but it was futile. Jasper had Bella in his arms and was quickly leading her away.

Bella fought back weakly before submitting to him. She apologised in her thoughts for not fighting back, but she couldn't risk it. She thought that by fighting back, Jasper would be more likely to attack her. She was right. In his thoughts, he saw her as nothing more than a threat. Alice had explained what had happened in her vision, but her version of events twisted away from reality. She saw what she wanted to see. She thought Bella had manipulated me as a way to gain access to my family. Alice even suspected Bella of being involved with the Volturi. I wanted to scream at Jasper that it was all wrong, but I knew nothing I said would convince them. According to them, I was tainted and not seeing things clearly.

"Let me go," I roared at Emmett. He held tighter. I twisted in his grip but it was useless.

"Bella!" I screamed. My screaming turned into sobs.

I had made a terrible mistake. I just prayed it wasn't a fatal one.

"Please," I begged Emmett. "Please, let me go to her." My tone was almost silent when I continued, "She must be so afraid."

"She should be," Alice hissed. "Look at what she's done to you!"

"What has she done, Alice?" I raged, turning my head towards her, no longer able to see Bella and Jasper through the dense trees. I couldn't even hear Jasper's thoughts anymore - they must have been out of my range. It meant I had no way of knowing whether she was safe or not, except myself. I knew I would just know if anything happened to her. I would no longer feel complete.

"You're not being yourself, you're fighting with your family. You gave her an engagement ring for crying out loud."

"I love her, Alice."

"You don't know her."

"I do. I can't explain it, but I do."

She shook her head in denial. "It's not natural," she murmured to herself.

I dropped my head in defeat, trying desperately to think of something - anything - I could say to her that might convince her to at least listen to me.

"If I thought there was anything natural about this, I would be happy for you. I really would, but look at the facts."

"You really think I've been brainwashed?" I challenged.

"Honestly, I don't know what to think. I'm just worried about you."

"If anything happens to her..." Even the thought of some harm befalling her was agonising, to think of it happening at the hands of one of our family was enough to rip a pained growl from my chest.

I submitted to Emmett's will and felt his grip start to loosen. I knew I would be able to escape him, but I wouldn't be fast enough to outrun him while tracking Bella's scent. Jasper wasn't foolish enough to run in a straight line, he would zigzag and be evasive. He would go through rivers and streams and try to have me lose their scent. He would be meticulous and careful, just in case I was able to escape. I twisted free of Emmett's grip.

"Alice, please... take me to her?"

"I can't. We need to work out how big a threat she is first."

I shook my head. "She's not a threat. Trust me."

"I wish I could, Edward. I wish I could."

A feral snarl ripped through the air from a distance away, filling the forest with a new tension.

I launched myself in the direction of the sound before anyone could stop me. "If she's hurt, Alice... so help me I will tear Jasper apart."

* * *

- BPOV -

Jasper's hands were wrapped around my wrists in a vice-like grip. He constantly kept himself behind me and out of reach of my jaws - not that I would have bitten him, but he was wary of me. Each time I tried to turn around to head back to Edward, his fingernails would tighten on my arms, biting into the skin. His years of experience in battle and dealing with newborns were coming to the fore to assert his dominance over me. Compared to his upbringing, my own was a breeze. I had never been involved in a battle. I had barely even mock-wrestled with my family. He made it clear with his actions that he would not hesitate to attack if I fought him.

He pushed me along in front of him, nudging me further and ensuring I ran at full speed. Every minute that passed was another dozen miles separating Edward and I. Finally, I could run no further. It wasn't exhaustion as such, but my body just gave up. I fell to the ground, not even caring about the pain from Jasper's hands.

"Get up," he hissed.

"I can't," I whispered.

"Get up," he ordered again.

"I. Can't."

He growled menacingly at me.

I sighed. "Jasper, surely you can tell I am not a threat."

"Alice..."

"No -" I cut him off. "Forget about what Alice said. Forget about what she thinks she saw. Trust yourself. Trust your own instincts."

He shook his head.

"You know I'm not a threat."

He cocked his head to the side; I could tell he was reading me. I tried to hide the fear I felt and concentrate on my feelings for Edward - I knew they would be traced with concern, but I hoped the most overwhelming emotion Jasper would feel was love.

Jasper's eyes narrowed as he considered my mood, weighing my emotions and my words against his preconceived notions of me. I found the strength within me to stand and face him.

"I know you can tell what I am feeling, Jasper," I said, reaching out slowly to him.

He lurched himself backwards and a feral snarl ripped from his chest. It was a deafening sound.

"None of your tricks," he hissed at me.

I cursed my stupidity. Alice would have seen me use my hands when I gave Edward his memories back and she would have warned Jasper about it.

I raised my hands up in surrender. "No tricks," I whispered softly.

Jasper twisted around and suddenly I found myself pinned tightly to the ground. My arms were pulled up behind my back and Jasper restrained me with his knee and one hand. His other hand twisted into my hair as he leant over me. His jaw was inches from my throat. He was completely still, he wasn't even breathing. I had never seen Jasper use his full strength before. I gave a small whimper of pain as I felt my shoulders dislocate slightly from the force he was using to trap me.

"Please don't," I begged. "If you do anything to me, it will hurt Edward."

"How do I know the spell won't be broken by killing you?" He pulled my arms even tighter, the pain in my shoulders increased.

"There is no _spell_," I whimpered. "Please, don't do this. Please."

"Give me one good reason," he said.

"Edward," I breathed. It was the only reason I could find. I couldn't even begin to think of the pain he would be in if my death came at the hands of our family.

"This is to save him..." Jasper whispered as he closed the distance between his mouth and my throat, and he pulled harshly on my hair. I screamed out as I felt the sting of his venom as his teeth cut into my skin.

"Edward," I whispered once more, but this time it wasn't a plea - it was a good-bye.

* * *

**A/N:- *runs to hide***

**There isn't much to say atm... just - please... trust?**


	13. Chapter 12: Reverse

**Chapter 12: Reverse**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

_-BPOV-_

_Fear._

_Pain._

_Darkness._

_I tried to hold onto anything concrete as pain ripped through my body. Pain radiating from deep within me as well as without. Unsettling emotions coursed through my body, making it difficult to concentrate. I tried to get images of my saviour, of my angel, in my mind, but Edward's face wouldn't come. Instead, I saw flashes of a face I didn't know. A woman, small and petite with flowing brown hair and deep ruby red eyes. She whispered of affection, of love, but ordered murder. Flashes of her face kept coming to me - always a new victim, always another pledge, always more pain. Each time she haunted me the fear grew, the despair increased and the darkness deepened._

_Fear._

_Always afraid._

_Pain._

_Always pain._

_Darkness._

_Faces - hundreds of faces._

_I tried to stop the flashes. I tried to hold onto an image, having it in my mind for more than a few fleeting seconds at a time. Nothingness overtook me and I felt dead inside. My chest was filled with a void. Despair and desolation was all I knew. I didn't know what love was. I thought I knew, but I didn't. What I imagined was love, was actually lust and control._

_I lusted after her and she was controlling me._

_The brunette's eyes burned into mine each time she ordered a new death. Each new addition she brought to me added to my pain. I felt them burning. I felt their fear. And in their final moments, I felt their hate. Hate directed at me._

_I needed to get away._

_Fear._

_Pain._

_Darkness._

_Nothing._

_Flashes of light._

I tried to recall the last instant before I sank into the darkness. I remembered pain. The sting of the venom as Jasper did what he thought he needed to do to protect his family.

_Fear._

_Pain._

_Darkness._

_Nothing._

_Flashes of light._

_Another flash and then Alice's face burst into my vision like a shining star. She was all I could see. Hope filled me. I couldn't recognise the emotion, because I had never felt anything like it. Slowly, the scene drew back and I realised I was in a diner that was only half-full. I was myself again and felt the hope radiating from Jasper. I realised what I had felt was projected from him. Alice hopped down from the high stool she was perched on, and walked over towards Jasper._

_"You've kept me waiting a long time," Alice said to him._

_Jasper ducked his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am."_

_Alice held her hand out for Jasper and, without hesitation, he took it._

_I watched them staring into each other's eyes - completely lost in one another. I felt like an intruder._

I felt a shift as I sought out another memory. I needed to find something that would save me in the present. I knew at any second my life could be over.

_I could smell the human and the horse, even though I was yet to see them. I knew they were behind me, but I was afraid to turn around because I was worried what I might see. I knew this was a pivotal moment in Jasper's life - this was the day he changed. I could hear the whispers of three immortals a short distance away. I turned and saw the three stunning women watching him intently._

_I realised I could stop it from happening. One flash of his life as it would be might send him running in the other direction. He might have the opportunity to live happily in this time. Or he might die in battle. Either way he had the opportunity for a human life._

_The ripples of that small change would be felt throughout history. A small voice whispered in the back of my mind that if I changed him, he wouldn't be there to hurt me in the future._

_But I couldn't do it. Despite everything that had happened - despite the horror of what he was doing to me, and to Edward - I couldn't take away the life that he and Alice had led. Because, without Jasper, Alice might have never joined the Cullens. Without Alice, Edward may have left long ago. He might have led a very different life. I would have led a different life. I would rather have lived a relatively short time with Edward than a whole human life without ever knowing love that deep. It was easy to find selfish reasons not to change anything when I knew that Jasper and Alice were happy enough with their current existence._

_I needed to keep my selfish reasons close to the front of my mind because one vision to Jasper - one flash of his own memories - and everything I knew... wouldn't exist._

"Shh, baby, it's all right," Edward's voice rang out through my mind.

_I wanted to tell him I was sorry for not fighting back harder. I wanted him to tell his family I forgave them. They thought I was trying to hurt Edward. They thought I was controlling him. I couldn't blame them for their protectiveness. If I thought someone was hurting Edward I wouldn't think twice before throwing myself at them and doing anything possible to save him._

"Bella, come back to me," he whispered, his voice circling on the breeze before drifting into nothingness.

_I watched as Jasper encountered the three beautiful immortals. He climbed off his horse and spoke to them, thinking they were simply women - albeit stunning beauties - who needed to be led to the camps._

_"He's speechless," one of the two blonde women said._

_"Mmm," another moaned softly. "Lovely."_

_"Concentrate, Nettie," the smallest of the three, a petite little brunette, snapped._

_Jasper stood gawping at the three vampires._

_"He looks right - young, strong, an officer..." the brunette continued, "and there's something more... do you sense it? He's... compelling."_

_"Oh, yes," the one the brunette had called Nettie agreed. She leaned in toward Jasper and I saw the glistening venom on her teeth._

_"Patience," the brunette said, twisting one hand in front of the one called Nettie._

_"You'd better do it, Maria," the other blonde spoke again "if he's important to you. I kill them twice as often as I keep them."_

_"Yes, I'll do it," Maria said. "I really do like this one. Take Nettie away, will you? I don't want to have to protect my back while I'm trying to focus."_

_"Let's hunt," Nettie's musical voice trilled on the night. She reached for the other girl's hand. I watched as they ran away, whispering softly about the new addition as they went._

_Maria's eyes never left Jasper as he watched the other two vampires disappear at what must have seemed like an alarming speed to him._

_"What is your name, soldier?" she asked Jasper._

_"Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am." Jasper's human voice was so unlike his immortal one, yet at the same time, I could hear the similarities._

_"I truly hope you survive, Jasper," Maria said to him. "I have a good feeling about you."_

_I turned away in horror as she bit into his throat. The smell of the warm blood on the air sent my own throat burning. I shifted, shying away from the memory, as soon as the screaming began._

"Bella," Edward's voice carried softly around me as I opened my eyes again.

_I didn't recognise the house I was in, but I did recognise its inhabitants._

_"I don't want any part of it," Rosalie huffed. "If you aren't willing to accept that maybe, just maybe, Edward really has found something special that's fine. But what you are talking about is ludicrous."_

_Alice rolled her eyes. "Rosalie, look at the facts. That female has bewitched Edward since that first day we found out about her. He's been secretive about things he has never worried about before. I know for a fact he found and kept one of her blouses. It's not right. I know all about love at first sight -" she looked briefly at Jasper, who clasped her hand a little tighter. "But this isn't that. There's something more to that vampire. The vision I had today confirms it. She's doing something to him."_

_"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked._

_"She touched him and suddenly it was as if he couldn't keep his hands to himself. He wanted to have her..." she closed her eyes, no doubt trying to suppress the images of Edward and I in each other's arms. "But then he was rude to me when I phoned him. He wasn't himself. He hasn't been himself for almost twelve months."_

_"Edward's always been the odd one," Emmett said. "Maybe you are reading too much into this?"_

_"Maybe..." Alice agreed but her voice trailed off. I saw the vagueness in her eye that indicated a vision._

_"He's... he's bringing her here?" Alice said with confusion._

_"Why?" Emmett stood._

_"She's convinced him that they are stronger together. That they shouldn't be apart. He's coming to tell us..." her voice faded again. Another vision hit her. "He's leaving," she gasped._

_A stunned silence fell across the room._

_"He's going to tell us that he is in too much danger... she knows about the Volturi and they don't want to endanger us." Alice groaned. "Bella... her name's Bella."_

_"Do you think she's from Italy?" Jasper asked._

_"I don't know," Alice whispered. "They will disappear as soon as they leave us."_

_"Do you think that means..." Rosalie couldn't finish the sentence, but everyone winced away from the unspoken words._

_"Possibly," Alice said. "Edward is in danger."_

_"We have to do what we can to stop her," Emmett declared._

_"You don't know anything yet," Rosalie whispered. "Maybe it is..."_

_"Do you want to risk it?" Alice said, cutting her off._

_"Maybe she's harmless." Rosalie shrugged._

_Alice sighed. "I don't want to see him hurt any more than he already has been."_

_Jasper clasped Alice's hand. "If he's in danger we need to go to him. We need to save him."_

_"What if he won't listen," Rosalie asked._

_"Then we make him," Jasper said. "Maybe if we can separate them, he will realise. Maybe it's proximity that ties him to her?"_

_"I don't know," Alice said._

_Emmett touched Rosalie's cheek softly. "Babe, I love you... but I'm not betting against Alice."_

_Rosalie stood and stalked from the room, leaving the other three to plan. I didn't know where Carlisle or Esme were. I didn't think they would allow this plan to take shape._

_"Bella, baby, show Alice..." Edward's voice filtered around me again, but faded away just as quickly._

_I couldn't figure out what he wanted me to show Alice, but I had thought of a way to remove us from immediate danger._

* * *

- EPOV -

Jasper's teeth were just cutting into the creamy, soft skin of Bella's neck when I found them. Bella cried out softly and whispered my name. I was about to rip Jasper from her - with no mercy or concern for his safety - when a pain greater than any I had ever experienced ran through my core. I fell to my knees and let loose a guttural scream. The pain came from within me and all around me at the same time.

It took me half a second to realise the pain was not my own. Nor was it Bella's. It was an agony sent out in a single, sharp pulse from Jasper. It was the pain of long repressed memories - of a life of desolation and despair. A life without hope... without love. It was a pain that Bella had accidentally shaken loose as she scrambled desperately to find a way to save herself.

I crawled over to her and dragged her away from the screaming Jasper. His pain still hung palpably in the air, his screams punctuated by a name I knew - Maria.

I wrapped myself entirely around Bella as she lay unconscious on the ground. No one would get to her without destroying me first. I would fight for her with everything I had, especially as she lay, unable to protect herself.

I listened to Bella's thoughts as she raced through Jasper's memories. Finally, she settled on one. Jasper's and Alice's meeting. She shied away from the memory.

I heard her mind shift again and suddenly she was watching Jasper's last night as a human. I could feel her start to panic. I wanted to calm her down, but struggled to know how. I did the only thing I could think of; I whispered to her, "Shh, baby, it's all right."

I was surprised when I heard her recognition of my voice. She'd never really been able to hear me when she was in the past before. In fact, I could strongly recall one instance where she hadn't heard me despite me pleading with her for hours to come back to me. The most she had ever acknowledge me before was vague notions of things I told her, like having her ask Alice's past self whether she wanted her memories.

Alice called my name behind me, but I ignored her. I knew she wouldn't hurt me, and to get to Bella she would have to. If they wanted to hurt her ever again, they would have to come through me first.

I watched the past play out in front of Bella. She turned away as Jasper's creator bit into him. I tried to call to her again, softly whispering her name. Again, she recognised my voice and my words.

I saw where she was and clenched my jaw tightly. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett were plotting her destruction.

"No!" I whispered, turning on Alice. "How could you?"

"Edward, she's a threat."

"She's not."

"Then why did you suddenly fall in love with her, like you were under some kind of spell."

"It wasn't sudden," I said, recalling our history. "Or I should say - it wasn't as sudden as you think."

"You're not making sense," Alice whispered, her voice filled with concern. I thought of a way to fix the problem. I knew it was something Bella didn't want to do, but surely Alice, with her vision of the future, would understand and be willing to try anything to help Bella.

"Bella, baby, show Alice what you can do," I whispered softly into Bella's ear.

I watched as Alice backed away, fear lining her face.

I whipped my head back around to Bella as I heard her plan in her mind. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I realised it might. At very least... it should avoid the situation we were currently in.

X - X - X

"It's not the answer," I whispered to Bella. "Being apart isn't the answer for us. We both know that now."

She nodded.

"We're stronger together," I continued.

_I love you_, she told me silently.

"And I you."

I stepped back away from her. "Ladies first?" I asked, pointing to the window.

Bella froze and I immediately saw why. I shuddered as a memory filled her mind. But it was a memory of future events. I saw Emmett, Jasper and Alice corner us. I saw Jasper steal Bella away and my jaw clenched shut with rage. How could our family do this to us? The memory cut off - but I wasn't sure whether it had stopped or whether Bella had just put her shield up when she saw my reaction.

"We can't go," she whispered. "We need to think about this first." And then she passed out. I reached forward just in time to catch her. I placed her on the bed and stroked her face gently as panic rose in my body. I didn't know what she had done, or what I could do.

* * *

_- BPOV -_

I knew what I had to do. I had a plan that I was certain would work I shifted toward a memory of my own. I was back in Charlie's house watching myself and Edward prepare to leave for our meeting with his family. I knew this was the pivotal moment to stop what was happening. I could change anything before this moment and risk Edward not knowing...but anytime after this would be too late. Alice would know something had happened. I watched the scene from the sidelines, waiting for the moment to intervene.

"It's not the answer," Edward whispered to my past self. "Being apart isn't the answer for us. We both know that now."

She nodded.

"We're stronger together," he continued.

Although I wasn't using my dual-viewpoints, so I didn't know my past-self's thoughts, I knew she told him that she loved him.

"And I you," Edward whispered in response, before stepping back away. "Ladies first?" he asked, pointing to the window.

I used that moment to change the future. I concentrated on showing my past self what had happened, knowing that her shield was down in that moment and Edward would see whatever I showed her. My past self froze as the memory assaulted her. I showed her Emmett, Jasper and Alice cornering Edward and I. I showed her being captured by Jasper. From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward's jaw clench shut with rage. I showed her what happened from there. The feeling of Jasper's jaws as they came in contact with the skin on my neck. I could tell from Edward's reaction that my past self had pulled her shield up - there was no way he would react to that sight so calmly, only the merest indication of stress lined his features.

"We can't go," my past self whispered. "We need to think about this first."

I shifted back to the present - with no idea what I would find.


	14. Chapter 13: Change

**Chapter 13: Change**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

- BPOV -

"Carlisle, I need to see you urgently. It's an emergency."

Edward's voice broke through the darkness.

My mind whirled with the possibilities that had shifted with my change. I lay on the bed, dizzied and lost. Edward must have heard my thoughts, because he briskly said, "Never mind," before snapping his mobile shut and racing to my side.

"Bella, my love," he whispered. I felt his hands brush across my forehead tenderly, before tracing over each eyelid and down my cheek.

My eyelids fluttered open. Edward's face filled my vision, a look of relief lighting his features.

"Thank goodness," he breathed. "I've been so worried."

I sat up and took a moment to try to figure out exactly what was happening. I was still in the bedroom of Charlie's old house. I quickly grabbed at my neck, my last memory before shifting into the past was of Jasper's teeth on my neck. I ran my fingers along my neck, but Edward pulled them gently away.

"What's wrong," he asked, running his fingers along the shaft of my throat. "You can't be thirsty already."

I shook my head. "Jasper," I murmured.

Edward tensed. "The memory."

I nodded.

"Did he do something to hurt you, Bella?" Edward asked, his voice tight with stress.

I wasn't sure how to answer. I didn't want to lie to Edward, even to protect him, but I knew how he would react if he knew what Jasper had done, or was going to do but wouldn't do any more. I chose my words carefully. "He hasn't done anything to me," I answered.

"But he would have?" I should have known better than to underestimate Edward. Not only did he have the ability to pluck the truth into my thoughts because my shield was down and my thoughts were bare, but even if it were up, he would have no doubt heard the lie in my words.

"He doesn't know who I am. In his eyes, I was a threat."

Edward growled.

"He thought Alice was in danger," I said. "What would you have done?"

"What?" he asked.

"If you thought I was in danger. What would you have done?"

A tremor ran through his whole body. "I would have..." He paused. "I will do _anything_ to make you safe."

I placed my hands on either side of his face. "Exactly. If Jasper did...had planned to do anything, it was only to keep Alice safe."

"I won't let him hurt you," Edward growled.

"Hopefully, you won't have to," I countered, assaulted by memories of the pain. "We just have to think of another plan."

He closed his eyes and exhaled a few times. "What happened before?" he asked. "It was almost as if you saw a memory-but then you collapsed. Why?" The stress in his voice was palpable.

"I... don't know," I whispered. _I think it was because of what I changed. I think I was caught between the two eventualities. Time changed around me._

"But you've done that before," Edward argued. "With me in the hospital. With Alice and her memories."

I shook my head. "That was different."

"How?"

"I didn't _change_ anything then. I simply made what needed to happen, happen."

"I don't understand how it's different."

I sighed, I knew I wouldn't explain it right, no matter how hard I tried. I didn't even know if I was right, I was just guessing based on what I felt in the pit of my stomach and the back of my mind. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts explain it better than my words ever could. I showed him what it felt like when I saved him in the hospital. Nothing shifted, the world continued on its normal course. _You needed to live for me to exist. If that hadn't happened, if I hadn't saved you, I would never have been able to go back and save you. _

Next, I showed him how I felt when I'd stripped Alice of her human memories right before she woke to her vampire life. _If Alice had her memories, she would have woken set on vengeance and probably done more harm than good in the world. But more than that, she would never have been with our family. She wouldn't have been there for you, rooting on our side, when we were in Forks. Things might have turned out differently._

Edward frowned. "I realise that, but I still don't understand."

I wished I had some magical answer for what had happened, but I didn't. I showed Edward what I felt before shifting the last time. I could remember what had happened with his family. I could remember leaving the room and running through the forest. I could distinctly remember the pain of Jasper's venom as his teeth ripped into me. Yet none of it happened. I had stopped Edward before we left. Somehow, the past and the alternate present had collided within me.

Soft growls had rattled Edward's chest as my thoughts ran through what had happened. He pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. "I will make sure they don't hurt you, even if it means leaving them forever."

"You can't leave them, Edward," I said. "I know what your family means to you." _What they mean to both of us. _

He shrugged. "You mean more."

_You can't say things like that,_ I thought._ That's why Alice was so suspicious._

"I can't help how I feel."

I nodded. _We just need to think about how to get them onside._

"One at a time," Edward said suddenly.

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"That's the way to do it," he said. "One at a time."

I agreed with him silently. _Alice first, _I thought._ It will be easier for you to convince your whole family if she's on our side._

He nodded.

_But it will be easier for you to convince her if I'm not here._

"No!" he exclaimed.

_I saw what they think. They think I am controlling you. They might be more inclined to believe you if I'm not right beside you._

"I'm not letting you go again."

I could see the fear behind his eyes; the fear that I would leave again. That I would erase his memories again if it was in his best interest. It pained me to see that doubt, but knew it was penance for my decision. _I can't do that again. I won't. I can't live without you. _My thoughts spiralled around each other trying to instil in him the absolute truth-I would rather die than be without him again.

"That's part of my concern," he whispered, stroking his fingers down my cheek. "I don't want you to sacrifice yourself. I need you too."

I shook my head. _I will fight with everything I have to stay with you, to stay by your side. I can't imagine being without you and I can't even begin to think about a world where you don't exist. _

The thought made me feel something akin to nausea.

"What if they set up an ambush?" he asked.

I closed my eyes. That was my concern. No matter where we arranged to meet Alice, whether Edward was alone or I accompanied him, she could set up an ambush. She was the one with the gift of foresight after all. I might not know of any potential threat until it was too late.

I felt Edward's arms stiffen around me. A rumble built in his chest until he let loose a snarl. "I don't care who it is-if _anyone_ hurts you..." he cut off.

"Jacob!" I exclaimed suddenly, an errant thought running through my mind. He would be able to protect me. Between the two of us, we would be able to match most of Edward's family-should it come to that-but it was so much more than that. He would also protect me from Alice's visions. She wouldn't know where I was if I was with Jacob, or any of the wolves for that matter.

Edward smiled. "To think it's come back full circle."

I nodded, Jacob was the one Edward had turned to to protect me when I was human. Now he was being called in for protection duty again. I just hoped he wouldn't mind. Edward smiled and pulled his phone from his pocket. He had dialled Jacob's number and had the phone at his ear seconds later.

"Jacob," he greeted.

I heard Jacob's confusion in his reply. "Edward?"

Edward met my eye. "I have someone here who would like to talk to you."

"Okay?" Jacob dragged out the word.

Edward handed the phone to me. "Jake, I need to ask you to do me a favour."

"Bella?" Jacob's confusion hit new heights. Then finally, something clicked into place. "You found Edward?"

I smiled at Edward. "Yes."

Jacob dropped his voice low, so that the phone barely registered his voice. "Does he know?"

"He knows everything."

"So everything's good again then?" I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Almost."

"What do you mean, almost?"

"His family doesn't know," I said.

"But how... what does... what's happening?"

"Can I spend some time with you?" I asked before he allowed his questions to carry him away. I would answer every one of them, as soon as I knew Alice wouldn't be able to watch my responses.

"Sure sure," he said. "But you will tell me what's going on, right?"

"Don't I always?" I laughed.

Jacob growled a 'no' before saying, "I'll be there in twenty," and hanging up.

I held the phone up for Edward. "I think it's time."

He nodded, not needing any confirmation of what I thought it was time for. He reached for the phone and called another number.

"It's about time," Alice snapped. "I was about to send out the search party. Especially after that call to Carlisle."

I offered Edward my hand as he spoke to her.

"Alice, look, I'm sorry for how I spoke to you earlier," Edward said. I could see how much it hurt him to hear the mistrust in his sister's voice. He raised our linked hands in response to my thoughts and dragged them along my cheek as he continued. "It's just, well something wonderful has happened, and I don't know how to explain it to you. I don't think you'll understand."

"Try me."

"I plan to," Edward told her.

"You want me to meet you at _her _house?" Alice asked.

"I do. I can't risk meeting you anywhere else."

Alice huffed down the phone. "What do you mean, you can't risk it?"

"I know you plan to ambush her. To pull me away from her. It won't work, and someone will get hurt." Edward squeezed my hand softly as he spoke firmly to Alice.

"How did you know..." Alice mused quietly.

"It doesn't matter. It just matters that I do and I won't allow it. Remember Alice, you were the one who told me to take this path. You said it would make me happy. You were right." Edward's eyes met mine and I felt a thrill run through me. "I've never been happier."

"I still don't trust her."

"She won't be here," Edward said. I could hear the pain in his voice at the idea of me leaving him.

"Where will she be?"

"With the wolf-pack. She's a friend of theirs as well."

"I don't like this," Alice said. "But if it means I will get some answers."

I heard a loud shout of 'No!' from Alice's side. I assumed it was Jasper making his thoughts on the plan known. Edward's jaw clenched as images of Jasper's teeth began to assault my mind involuntarily.

_Remember, he hasn't done anything to me, _I reminded Edward.

"Yet," Edward said.

Edward's exclamation was met with a round of confusion from Alice.

"Are we agreed?" Edward asked. "You come and meet me alone or..." he cut off and I had no idea what image of the future was running through Alice's head.

"I'll meet you," Alice said.

"Alone?" Edward clarified.

"You know Jasper won't allow it."

Edward closed his eyes. "Then bring Carlisle."

"What?"

"Bring Carlisle. Not Jasper. I don't want to see, or hear, Jasper anywhere near Bella's house. Or we will run."

I shook my head. I didn't want him to leave his family for me.

"I know what I'm doing," Edward mouthed to me.

I sighed and nodded slightly, I would trust him.

"Thank you, Alice," he said before hanging up.

He sighed and threw the phone onto my bed.

"Jacob will be here soon," he said to me, before taking my hand and leading me downstairs.

Looking around the bottom floor was a reminder of all that I had lost. The house was largely unfurnished, there was only an oversized couch Cain had left when he had moved out. Edward led me over to the couch and pulled me onto his lap.

"I remember all the times we used to sit in this living room under Charlie's watchful eye," he reminisced. "If only he had worked a little harder to convince you to stay away from me," he muttered. His voice sad.

"Don't say that," I demanded. "Don't you ever say that."

He buried his head against my chest. "I'm sorry, love. I guess some habits die hard."

"Don't you do anything you wouldn't want me to do," I whispered. "Just don't. I need you."

I couldn't help taking a journey down memory lane. The last time we had been in this room together was just before he left me. He had been at the house before I arrived, sitting in the lounge with Charlie when I came home. He was cold and distant and I had known that something was wrong. It was the same night I had taken the one photo of Charlie I had, and also when Charlie had taken the lone photo of Edward and I. The photo that had led to so much trouble in Fairfield, but which had ultimately led me back into Edward's arms, where I fully intended to stay-if only we could get through our current crises.

_I watched as Edward stared at the TV, pretending to be interested in it. At the time, I had wondered what was running through his mind. I had guessed that he was stressing about the incident with Jasper at my birthday party. With my future knowledge, I realised it was probably torment. He was probably working out how to leave me. When. How he would cope. How he could make me stay._

I jumped forward to my next memory of the living room.

_My past self was curled into a tight ball; almost catatonic. The only sounds escaping her lips were the chattering of her teeth and the occasional quiet utterance of 'he left me'._

I watched for as long as I could bear before shifting back. After witnessing my past torment, the feel of Edward's touch was heaven. I dropped my lips to the top of his head.

"I've said it before, but I was a fool," he said. "I was young, arrogant and naive to think that leaving was the best thing. If I had known how much pain you would have been in-how much hurt you would have to suffer over the preceding years, I could never have done it. I thought you'd forget about me."

I smiled against his hair. "How can you forget your reason for living?"

He sighed. "Easily, apparently."

I tipped his face up to mine and brushed my lips along his. "You didn't simply forget about me."

"I didn't remember you either."

I shook my head. "We've both been fools. We've both hurt each other and ourselves in the process. Let's just swear never to do it again."

"We'll make it part of our vows when we show my family what we mean to each other."

I nodded, but then panic hit me. "Just don't let them take you away from me. _Please._"

"I would rather die."

I shook my head. "That doesn't work for me either."

"It'll be okay," he assured me.

He pulled my lips back to his, kissing me with earnest before chuckling slightly.

I wondered what was so funny until I heard the car turn into the drive. I realised Jacob had arrived and that Edward was planning on giving him a show.

As if in response to my thoughts, Edward dipped me backwards and pressed his tongue forward. I moaned involuntarily.

"Well, I see things are back to normal here," Jake said dryly as he opened the door.

I laughed against Edward's mouth.

"If you mean that I remember my beautiful wife again then, yes, things are back to normal."

"What's happening then?" Jacob asked.

"I'll explain it all to you when we go," I said.

"Go?"

I shrugged. "Edward is entertaining a few members of his family here. It's just better if I'm not around for that."

"Why?"

I sighed. "I'll explain."

"You better," he said. "Because I'm confused."

I nodded. "Let's go." I turned to Edward. "Promise me." _You won't leave me._

"I promise. No matter what I'll be here."

_You'd better be. I love you._

I followed Jacob out of the house, unable to squelch my feelings of anxiety completely.


	15. Chapter 14: Family

Chapter 14: Family

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

* * *

_-EPOV-_

I watched Bella leave, a feeling of dread creeping through my body. I knew Alice wouldn't be able to see her, but I wasn't sure whether she would assume it was some sort of trick. She remembered Jacob and her blind spots well enough, but whether she would accept that's what happened I didn't know. I could only hope Carlisle would be the voice of reason if she started to panic. Bella was right. Alice was the key to getting the family onside.

I mentally ticked my family off a checklist in my mind. Esme was very loving. She would trust anyone I brought home, so long as they put a smile on my face and loved me as she thought I deserved. Carlisle would listen to Esme's input, but would never ignore the advice of the little pixie. If Alice convinced him that Bella was untrustworthy, he would go against Esme-begrudgingly, but he would. Jasper would-as Bella had correctly pointed out-do anything for Alice. If Alice supported my choice he would be unlikely to argue. Rosalie and Emmett were a little bit of an enigma, but would trust the guidance that Alice's foresight offered. We all did. We'd been relying on her for too long to ignore her advice. It was just that in this instance, I happened to know she was wrong. I knew she didn't have all the information.

I heard Alice long before I saw her. Her mind was consumed with concern and she was creeping up on the house slowly. Carlisle took note of her caution and was following her painfully slow footsteps. I sighed, and walked to the front door, throwing it open in invitation.

"She's not here," I said. "You know that Alice."

_I don't know that, Edward, _her inner monologue all but snapped at me. _I saw her disappear. For all I know she could be laying in wait upstairs._

I rolled my eyes. "Really, Alice. You need to trust me. I wouldn't do that to you."

_The Edward I know wouldn't, _Alice argued_._

"I _am_ the Edward you know. Nothing has changed..." I trailed off as I heard the doubt building in Alice's mind. "I told you before, she's with Jacob and the pack. They are spending the afternoon together. They are close friends. They always have been."

I could hear Carlisle's internal debate as he listened to my one-sided conversation and ran through the risks and benefits. He decided that _I_ at least wasn't a threat. He retained enough trust in Jacob to consider his friendship with Bella a character reference of sorts.

"Thank you," I said. "At least one person is seeing reason."

I turned and went back inside the house to wait for them to close the final distance. A few moments later, Alice and Carlisle were both standing in front of me.

"Thank you both for coming," I said sincerely. "I just want to get everything on the table now so that we can return to our normal lives."

"Does that mean you are coming back with us?" Carlisle asked.

Alice shook her head. "Not without the brunette."

"Bella," I prompted, garnering an eye-roll. "And Alice is right. I won't return without Bella. Believe me or not, she is in danger from the Volturi. You warned her about the danger in fact." I looked at Alice.

"I think I would remember that," she huffed.

I smiled indulgently. "Are you willing to listen to a story?"

Carlisle leaned forward and nodded. I was glad he was with us, his natural curiosity would definitely help my cause.

"Bella has a talent," I started.

"I knew it," Alice interrupted. _What has she done to you? Can we fix it?_

I closed my eyes and did my best to ignore her interruption. "I can't tell you exactly what it is, only that it is something that would be coveted greatly by certain parties."

Carlisle nodded. I knew he understood. Especially when his mind whispered, _Aro._

"I didn't _just_ fall in love with Bella," I said, worrying about this part of the conversation. This is where I could lose Carlisle's support. "I fell in love with her around thirty years ago. The last time we were in this town, in fact."

Carlisle's eyes narrowed and I could see him piecing everything together. _The changes in Edward. The missing memories. Could that all be linked to this Bella?_

I nodded a silent confirmation.

"But how?" he asked aloud.

I shook my head.

_Either he can't tell us, or he won't._

"Both," I answered.

_I wonder what her talent could be?_ He mused.

"All you need to know is that it's similar to Alice's."

"What?" Alice said. _It can't be._

I chuckled at my sisters indignant thoughts. She liked being unique.

"Except instead of the future, Bella can see the past."

That was the point in the conversation where I lost them. Alice actually burst out laughing. "I can see into the past too, Edward. So can you. I'm sure Carlisle is able to as well. It's called a memory."

"Can you see _my _past?" I snapped. I was growing annoyed that I couldn't just tell them what Bella's talent was. But even if I could, I knew they would never understand. Even before Bella had torn herself from our lives, a certain mystery surrounded her talent where my family were concerned. I was the only one that ever truly understood what it was like. But at least they had accepted her. I sighed and decided to change tact. "Look, Bella was scared and uncertain and did something silly. I'm not going to allow her to continue to be punished for it. She's suffered enough. As have I."

"What did she do?" Carlisle asked.

I sighed. "I can't tell you...I'm just asking you to trust me." I levelled myself with Carlisle and met his eye. I hoped he would realise there was no hint of deception or hidden intent there.

Carlisle regarded me carefully and was about to speak when Alice gasped. She was having a 'vision' and I had to bite my lip to stop the smirk that threatened to cross my features at the reality. I knew it was actually a memory of Bella's. A memory from so long ago, when she was just new to the life.

_Alice and Bella sat side by side on the couch. Bella was as still as stone. She stared pointedly at her lap, looking every part a dog reprimanded by its owner. Alice's fingers curled around her chin and pulled Bella's face toward her. There was no anger present, only awe._

_Confusion laced Bella's features. "Aren't you upset?"she asked quietly._

_Alice chuckled. "I probably should be."_

_Bella gave a nervous giggle in response. "I would be."_

"_Bella, I know you did what you thought was best based on what was in front of you at the time. We've all done that –"_

The 'vision' cut off. If Alice paid as much attention to Bella as I did, would have noticed the whirling red irises. I didn't know what had happened, why Bella had felt it necessary to intervene, but I could tell Alice's opinion swayed slightly on seeing the two of them so friendly. But then she faltered.

"Maybe..." Alice started. _Maybe she cast the same spell over me._

Bella must have realised she wasn't completely convinced and showed her another memory.

_Alice pulled Bella from the house. Alice's whole body was stiff with tension as they put distance between them and our family. As soon as they were far enough away from the house, Alice spoke to Bella, without breaking stride. "Shield me, Bella. I don't want Edward to see this, at least not yet."_

"_You do realise I will share with him anyway?" Bella asked._

_Alice sighed. "Yes, just like I will tell Jasper. But we need to work out the course of action we are going to take first... see it effects you more than anyone."_

_They had travelled another dozen miles before Alice spun on Bella and stopped cold._

"_The Volturi are coming," Alice whispered._

"_Oh my god," I replied._

"_Just use your shield and watch." Alice held Bella's hand._

After the memory stopped, I pounced. "See, Alice, you will want to protect her. You will trust her judgement as highly as Jasper's."

Alice was still sceptical.

"The least we could do is meet the young woman," Carlisle suggested.

"You will be free to hate her if you like, Alice," I assured her, laughing. "But I doubt you'll be able to."

"So you are admitting that she could bewitch me?"

I laughed harder. "Only by the fact that she has the sweetest, most honest and loyal personality you will ever be able to find."

Alice shook her head. _What _has _she done to you, Edward?_

I knew it was a rhetorical question so I didn't answer it. "Would you like me to get her to come back?"

Alice watched the future, all of our futures disappeared after she'd agreed.

"I won't go in blind," she said.

"I'll tell her to come alone," I promised.

Alice saw the beginning of the meeting with Bella.

_Alice sat in one corner of the small living room, open hostility was printed all over her features as Bella entered._

_"Alice. Carlisle." Bella nodded to each of them before taking her rightful place by my side._

The vision spun suddenly through a number of different scenarios. I knew the reason; there were too many decisions yet to be made. Alice and Carlisle could react in one hundred different ways. There was only one certainty in all of the visions; Bella and I were firmly side-by-side.

* * *

_- BPOV -_

"All right, spill," Jacob demanded.

I sighed. I knew I had promised him that I would tell him everything, but it was harder to start than I thought. "Pull over," I said firmly.

Jacob smiled, knowing the reason I was asking him to stop the car was so that I could _show_ him what happened. With my gift, it was often the easiest way for me to impart information. I ran through my meeting with Edward and my attempt to take him to La Push to return his memories. I skipped over our bedroom antics, and what had almost happened with Alice and Jasper. I knew he would hold a grudge against them for trying to hurt me. I did show him Edward's phone conversation with Alice and her worries about my talent.

"Alice doesn't know you?" Jacob clarified.

"None of them do. I think it's better that way. The less people who know what I can do, the better."

He gave me a grim smile and nodded.

I leaned my head back against the seat. "What can I do?" I asked. "How am I supposed to convince my own family that I'm not a threat? That I'm not going to hurt Edward?"

"Just be yourself, Bella," Jacob said, resting his hand on my knee. "Blind Freddy can see how you and Edward feel about each other. The rest of the Cullens will come around. In fact, I'd be surprised if Esme isn't already planning a big 'Welcome to the family' party."

I chuckled darkly. "I hope you are right."

"You know I'm right."

I shrugged.

"So...where to?" he asked. "How long do you think we have to stay away for?"

I groaned. "I have no idea. I don't suppose Harri is up for a little company? That is...if I'm welcome down your way." Other than my failed attempt to lure Edward to the La Push border, I had not ventured onto treaty land. I hadn't formally discussed the treaty with Jacob since long before my transformation. It was just a given that he and his family came to visit the Cullens wherever we were currently living.

Jacob surprised me by laughing loudly. "Do you mean the treaty?" he asked.

I nodded. "Don't worry," I said quietly. "I get it, I really do. Even those of us who try to live without killing are a danger."

He laughed louder. "Bella, the treaty has been defunct for years."

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"After...well after seeing what you did for Cain and what you've done for me and my family over the years, all of the elders agreed to cancel it."

"I guess I never got the memo," I said lamely.

He chuckled. "Well, we aren't exactly going to publicise a love for vamps now are we?"

"I guess not."

We headed down to the reserve but had only just reached it when my phone buzzed. I startled so hard I nearly crushed the tiny device in my hands.

"Bella, we are ready for you now," Edward's voice was tight and full of stress.

"Are you sure?"

I received a strained "Mm-hmm," in response.

"Should I bring Jacob back too?"

"You can't," Edward said.

"Oh." I couldn't help the bubble of panic building, threatening to render me immobile.

"I promised Alice she wouldn't have to go in blind," he explained.

"Do you think we should?" I asked. "Are you sure-"

"I'm not sure about anything, love," he sighed in responded. "All I know is this is our one chance to bring them on side. I don't want to ruin it."

"No, of course not," I agreed. Despite what they had almost done-and potentially could still do-to me, I wished them no ill will. They had no knowledge of how intertwined our pasts were. "I'll be there soon."

I hung up the phone and turned to Jacob.

"Are you sure you should go back alone?" he asked.

"I have to," I said, touching his arm lightly. "Thank you. For always being there. Regardless of what happens, I want you to know that I care deeply about you and appreciate everything you have done for both Edward and I."

"Bella?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "You are talking as if I won't ever see you again."

I hung my head. "I know."

He growled. "Bella, if you are in some sort of danger going back there..." He trailed off before grabbing my hand. "Don't. Please?"

I closed my eyes. "I have to. I need to right what I have done."

"At least let me come with you?"

I shook my head. "No. I need to do this alone."

He must have sensed the determination in my voice because he dropped my hand. "Okay." He nodded and took a step back.

I gave him a small smile and stepped away.

"And Bella?" he called, just as I was about to run back to Edward. "Me too."

I gave him a bigger, more genuine, smile.

I ghosted through the town, and where possible, I took to the cover of the diminishing wilderness. Where I was forced into suburbia, I used the cover of trees and fences as much as I was able. I arrived back at my house in minutes. I wasn't sure whether to walk in or knock on the door and wait. I figured that, as my shield was down, at least two out of the three inhabitants of the living room knew I was due to arrive any second so I just entered.

I took in the room quickly. Alice sat in one corner, her mouth twisted into something that closely resembled a scowl. I took a moment to steady myself.

"Alice. Carlisle." I nodded to each of them in turn before I practically ran to Edward's side. As soon as I came within a few feet of him, his hand grabbed for mine, almost instinctively. I smiled as his fingers intertwined with mine and he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

Alice nodded, but looked at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Lovely to meet you, Bella." Carlisle stood and extended his hand.

As I stood and shook his hand in response, I was so nervous that I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips. The giggle died away almost instantly, a melancholy feeling sinking in instead. For the past twenty years, Carlisle was a father figure to me. He was the one person in the family everyone went to for guidance. And now it was as if I was meeting him for the first time.

I sat back down and Edward's hand tightened around mine again. He made small circles with his thumb. I looked over to him and he gave me a tight smile. I wanted to make everything better. Despite our decision that it would be better if Edward's family didn't know about me, knowing the more everyone knew the more we all would be in danger, I wanted to give them back everything I had stolen. I wanted to be part of the family again. I didn't want the blank, unknowing looks that I was getting from both Alice and Carlisle. Each one was like a dagger to my still heart.

"Bella, can I talk alone for one moment?" Edward asked.

I nodded. He stood before wrapping his arms around me. He led me into the kitchen. I knew Alice and Carlisle would be able to overhear everything, but I trusted Edward's lead.

"Are you all right?" he asked, pulling me close to his body. "We don't have to do this if it's too hard."

I took a moment to breath in his scent, using it to calm my mind from their traitorous thoughts. I blew it out. "It's okay."

He rubbed his hands along my arms lightly.

"It will all be okay," he promised. "I was thinking, maybe a demonstration is in order? Show Alice what _your_ visions entail?"

_My visions? _I asked in my mind, confused as to why he'd use that word. He knew as well as I did that they weren't simply visions, I literally stepped back into the middle of the events.

He nodded. "I know, love. I think Alice needs a little convincing." He winked.

_Convincing? How?_

"Just show her what you can do," he whispered. "Just trust me; you will know what she needs to _see_."

_There's something you want me to show her?_

He nodded.

_Something only _I _can show her..._

He nodded again and grinned at me as I realised exactly what he was planning.

_But how can you be sure it won't make things worse._

"Trust me, it didn't."

"Okay," I said with a nod.

Edward led me back into the living room and we took our seat side by side.

"Bella has agreed to show you her talent," he told Alice and Carlisle. "Doing so is a great act of faith, because she is at her most vulnerable during that time."

I saw Alice's eyes widen a little in surprise before narrowing again.

Edward held my hand and nodded, letting me know that he had the memory he wanted me to see in his mind. I pushed out my shield and felt the familiar tug run through my mind as I fell back into the past.

_Carlisle, Alice and Edward were seated in almost exactly the same positions as they were in the future I had just left._

_Edward spoke first, his voice filled with undeniable authority. "All you need to know is that it's similar to Alice's."_

_"What?" Alice huffed._

_Edward chuckled at something before continuing, "Except instead of the future, Bella can see the past."_

_Alice laughed loudly. "I can see into the past too, Edward. So can you. I'm sure Carlisle is able to as well. It's called a memory."_

_I knew why Edward wanted me to show Alice a memory. He was unable to explain anything else without giving too much away, but Alice wasn't going to understand without something other than Edward telling her she could trust me._

_"Can you see my past?" Edward snapped. I could see him trying to calm himself before sighing. "Look, Bella was scared and uncertain and did something silly. I'm not going to allow her to continue to be punished for it. She's suffered enough. As have I."_

_"What did she do?" Carlisle asked, seeming genuinely concerned._

_Edward sighed again. "I can't tell you...I'm just asking you to trust me."_

_I decided to help Edward with the first memory that came to mind. The one time Alice had put her absolute trust in me; the time I realised I was the one who had stolen her human memories and she was giving me carte blanche permission to review them and tell her whether she would want them back._

_I watched Alice closely as I showed her the memory. I could tell she wasn't convinced. I needed to show her that she could trust me. That she could confide in me. One memory presented itself immediately, her pulling me from the house so we could discuss the impending Volturi visit-the moment that started this whole mess._

_"Maybe..." Alice started._

_I cut her off by showing her the waiting memory._

_"See, Alice," Edward said as soon as the memory stopped. "You will want to protect her. You will trust her judgement as highly as Jasper's."_

_"The least we could do is meet the young woman," Carlisle suggested._

I felt my mind returning to the present. I looked straight over to Carlisle. "Thank you, for being the one to offer to meet me," I said. "It means a lot to me."

Carlisle smiled. "So you can what, read other people's memories?"

"Something like that," I answered.

"Fascinating," he murmured.

_You don't know the half of it,_ I thought and Edward chuckled by my side.

"You did great," he whispered into my ear.

_So what now? _I asked silently.

"Alice, Carlisle, I'm sure there is plenty you want to think about and discuss," Edward said, in a voice that clearly showed the conversation was finished. "You have my phone number when you are ready to talk."


	16. Chapter 15: On the Edge

__

**Chapter 15: On the edge**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

_

* * *

_

We were standing on a precipice. My hand was tightly wrapped around Edward's as we stood side by side.

"I wish I knew how much longer they are going to take," he sighed, as he watched the sun sinking into the distance. The bravado from earlier had completely fizzled out of his system almost the instant that Carlisle and Alice left.

I rubbed his hand, knowing that my touch and thoughts were comfort enough to him. He turned to me and smiled in confirmation.

"Enjoying the view?" I asked.

He nodded, not taking his eyes off mine.

We stood hand in hand at the top of the cliff watching the sun sink lower into the sky. "It's beautiful up here," I said eventually, breaking our eye contact.

"It is. It's almost a shame it's been off limits for so long."

I nodded. "The last time I was here, I couldn't appreciate it all." I looked out to the distant horizon.

"Will you show me the last time you were here?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know." _It was a very dark period in my life._

He nodded, before touching my chin with his finger. "I know, I realised as much. But I don't want anything to be hidden between us anymore. I know the basics, just...being here now makes me want to know what happened then."

I nodded. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the last time I had been on the cliff.

_I had my eyes closed, I was getting ready to make the leap. I had no doubt I would if Jacob hadn't stopped me. I sank back into my mind and felt everything I had then. An overwhelming desire ran through me. I wanted, no...needed, to see Edward again. There was only one way I knew how. Whatever the reason, his voice called to me in extreme situations. I didn't know if it was a result of fear or stupidity, the by-product of delusion or adrenaline. I didn't care about the cause, only the result. As I stood on the cliff-top I could hear his beautiful voice pleading with me not to do it. I raised up onto my tiptoes, ready to plunge._

_"Bella stop!"_

_It was a different voice, less angelic, rougher and more...earthy. Jacob. I turned to look at him, leaving my past self standing at the edge, uncertain whether to listen to him or take the opportunity to soar out over the edge._

_As I watched my past self run through the internal debate I turned to Jacob. This was a pivotal moment in our joint history. It was the day I began to break down the barriers I had raised after Edward left. I watched as he spoke again. "Bella, please don't do this. We need to meet Charlie at Harry's."_

_"What's wrong?"_

_"It's Harry, he's had a heart-attack." Jacob reached his hand out for hers before pulling her gently back from the edge._

_"Is he...will he be all right?" I asked._

_He shook his head."It doesn't look great."_

_I tried to remember how it felt to be in his arms as he wrapped them protectively around me, pulling me into him and away from the cliff. Everything about our relationship had shifted that day. Over the course of the next few years, we had fallen into love and spiraled back out of it again. This moment was the end of our innocent friendship and the start of a new one that would suffer so many wounds and still survive intact. I wanted to thank him for all he was about to do for me-the good and the bad. In the end, everything that we did to each other led me back where I needed to be; in Edward's arms. Forever._

"Forever," Edward agreed with a murmur against the base of my neck. While I was unconscious he'd shifted our position. Rather than side-by-side, he was now behind me. Holding me like Jacob had. "Do you regret not doing it when you had the chance?" he asked.

I didn't need to ask him what he meant as I stared out at the waves crashing violently against the rocks below us. _Yes and no. I don't know what would have happened if I had jumped. I was a lot more fragile back then._

I felt Edward bristle behind me. I had no doubt he was thinking about me jumping back then. "I'm glad you didn't. You might not be here with me now if you had."

I nodded and leant back to get even closer to him. Despite the circumstances and the anxious waiting for Alice or Carlisle to call, I could feel the desire rolling off him. I turned my body in his arms and took his face between my hands. _It will be okay. I don't know how, but I know it will be. Look at Jacob and I...who would have ever thought we'd be friends again? And the treaty? Who'd ever have thought we'd get to see this view. _I kissed his lips softly.

"Let's jump," Edward said with a new playful glint in his eyes.

I let out a small laugh. "Why?"

He looked down at me earnestly. "I don't want there to be anything between us anymore. No secrets. No lies. No regrets."

He laced his fingers with mine and drew my hands away from his face.

"Besides," he continued. "It'll be fun."

I watched him for a second, trying to determine if he was serious. He stepped back, slowly peeling off his pants and shirt, leaving his boxers. "I'm very serious."

_But what about __Alice__? What if she calls?_

He stepped closer to me, his excitement obvious. He lifted the hem of my t-shirt and deftly pulled it off over my head. "She can wait," he whispered as he started on the buttons of my jeans. "This can't."

As he slid the denim down my legs, he dragged his fingers along my thighs, causing my nerves to sing with pleasure. Once he was satisfied that I was only in my bra and panties, he pulled me back to the edge of the cliff. Holding my hand again he turned to face me. "Are you ready?" he asked.

I smiled in response. I knew I had nothing to fear from the fall or from the ocean below, and after seeing my past self's desire to know what it felt like to soar over the edge, I had felt a pang of curiosity. I had no doubt it was this curiosity that was spurring him on as he began his countdown.

On 'Go' we leapt. We both launched ourselves out over the cliff, soaring up into the open air. It was as close as something without wings could possibly get to flying.

As we sailed through the air, pushing further away from the shore, Edward tugged my arm gently and pulled my body into his. He wrapped his arms around me and brought his lips to mine, even as the wind whipped my hair in front of my face. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of pure freedom. Of weightlessness. Every care seemed to be pulled away as we were carried ever upward.

As if jealous of our freedom, gravity soon began to make claim on us. The air around us grew weighted, pulling at us and trying to force us apart, but we clung tighter to each other. It stole our freedom inch by inch until we were falling. Spinning together toward the ocean, clutching at each other against all the forces trying to pull us apart and then suddenly, we re-found our freedom with a crash.

We hit the ocean hard, falling through it like stone. Water rushed around us. Unlike the air, which tried to force us apart, it pushed us closer together. Edward's hands pulled at my shoulders, there was barely an half an inch between our bodies. Rather than fighting for the surface, we fought for comfort and closeness. We drove further under the waves. Our lips melded into each other, our tongues caressed. The salt water of the ocean ran into our mouths, adding a new edge to the taste of our combined venom.

_Well... this is different, _I thought, visions of being supported by the water and rocked by the waves filling up my mind. I opened my eyes, surprised at how clear my vision was even under the depths of the ocean. The dim light and murky ocean hardly a concern.

Edward looked so beautiful, his hair forming a bronze halo around his head that swayed with the ebb and flow of the waves far above. One of his hands pulled my pelvis to his while the other unhooked the clasp on my bra. I left my shield down and my mind wide open. Under the water, nothing else existed. No noise, no interruptions, just Edward and me.

Edward broke off the kiss and began a slow and torturous trail of light kisses along my body, pushing me up in the water while pulling himself down. He spun us around lightly and the weightlessness returned. I looked down my body at him and met his eye. He slid my bra straps along my arms, pulling them towards him before discarding the garment. He climbed my body slowly, kissing and caressing with his lips and fingers. I closed my eyes, giving over to the sensation.

There was a rush of water and then all movement was gone. I opened my eyes and looked around. I spun in a rapid circle, my eyes on a constant vigil for Edward. I dropped my eyes, looking down into the ever darkening water and I saw him. His face split into a wicked grin, his eyes daring me to follow. To catch him.

I pushed myself after him, barely acknowledging the slight pressure in my chest. It was a small price to pay for the freedom we were experiencing. And I could tell by his eyes that Edward was truly free in that moment. We were far enough from land and deep enough in the sea that thoughts from the main land couldn't reach him. We were momentarily alone-completely alone-for the first time in far too long.

Edward's grin grew even wider at my thoughts. As I watched, he pushed a little more distance between us before gesturing me to him with a twitch of his finger. I didn't need to be asked twice and quickly pushed myself down to him. I reached him at speed and spun him around. I grabbed the tops of his arms held on tight as we twirled through the current. I touched my lips to his as our spin slowed.

We danced under the waves, spinning and twirling as our lips and hands explored. Our feet kicked out occasionally to keep us in motion. His hands tamed my hair as it flared around my head in wild, snaking tendrils. His fingers caressed my neck and cheek. He pulled me closer and gave every part of himself to me. I wanted to lose myself in the moment forever.

Almost as soon as the thought had crossed my mind, his hands ran along my neck and down my shoulders. He sank into my body, twisting himself around to remove my panties and his own boxers. I closed my eyes he pulled my body around him. My mind cried out in ecstasy, using the only instrument I had at my disposal to tell him how good it felt. The water supported and caressed us as our dance grew ever more intimate. We were one with each other and one with the world. Up and down, hot and cold, hard and soft no longer existed. There was only me and Edward. Cocooned in each other and our own private world.

Neither of us was anxious to return to the surface, the need to be with one another stronger than the desire to hear from his family but, without communicating it, we both began to push slowly for the surface knowing our private time was drawing to an end.

As our heads broke the water, Edward flicked his hair back, sending a spray of water into the air before laughing. The sound of it erased the last traces of concern running through my mind. He pulled me close. "Someone's waiting for us," he said, indicating the cliff top.

I twisted to see where he was pointing and saw Alice looking over the edge.

A feeling of dread settled over me. I wasn't sure whether it was good news or bad that she had arrived in person instead of calling, but Edward didn't seem too concerned so I followed his lead back toward the shore.

A fresh set of clothes were already waiting for us when we surfaced. It felt almost normal to see them waiting, as if none of the recent events had actually occurred. I almost expected to Alice to come bounding out from between the trees soon with a smile on her face and pull me into an embrace. Instead, Edward tugged me in the direction of her 'voice' and we ran to her. She was standing stationary with her arms crossed. I couldn't read the expression on her face, which was odd because she was usually an open book.

She greeted us each with a stiff nod.

"Don't Alice," Edward said, in a quite plea before she was able to utter a word.

I stiffened, unsure what his quiet plea was in regards to. Was Alice coming to tell me that I wasn't welcome? Or maybe she was a decoy or part of an ambush?

Edward read my concern and held me tighter.

"See, it's not a good idea," he murmured to Alice. "Be gentle."

"I was surprised to see you coming onto the reservation," Alice said softly, looking at me. "More surprised when your future didn't disappear. It made me curious to find out what was happening. I came down to talk to Jacob, and he told me a few things. Then the future told me the rest."

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"I thought about coming down and confronting you. You must have been debating whether or not to tell me the complete truth at the same time, so I saw it all. Everything you really wanted to tell me, and the reasons why you thought you shouldn't."

"So then you know? What I did to you?"

She nodded. "What you did to everyone!"

"I had to."

"I know you believe that," she whispered. "Show me why."

"What?"

"Show me, in your own way, why you felt this was the best choice."

I pulled up the memory of what I had seen in her visions, I hoped this would still work like it had before, showing physical memories was easy, showing memories of visions was harder to do without the benefit of Edward's gift. There was only one way I could be sure she saw the whole thing and that was to restore her memories of the event. If she already knew what I could do anyway, surely it wouldn't endanger us any further.

I looked to Edward to try to read his thoughts on the matter and he nodded.

_You think I should return them _all_?_

He thought for a moment. "I think you are right, the danger is already there. We three are the ones Aro wishes to collect more than the others. We three are the ones who know the danger we are in. No more secrets between us."

Alice looked at him and nodded. "I know the risks, Bella. Please…I _want _to remember you."

Using my hands to focus my shield, I returned her memories. Every second we had spent together since she'd first met me in Forks. I returned everything as fast as I dared. Being so close to my best friend again, having her almost trust me, made me anxious for us to return to how things were. I just couldn't be sure whether receiving her memories would work in my favour or not. After all, she would be learning that I had stolen her memories twice. The first time was accidental, but the second time I had done it purposefully. I just hoped she would understand my reasons.

Shock flittered across her delicate features as I returned everything, right up to the last few days of our time together. Her eyes widened in shock and then she bolted. She ran straight for the treaty line, no doubt seeking an escape off the wolves land, and from me.

I took a step to go after her, but Edward stopped me. "She may need some time," he said. "I think you showed her a little bit too much at once. It was overwhelming even for me."

I sagged. I couldn't help but feel guilty that I had again been the cause of a divide in the family. Every time I tried to fix things, I inevitably made them worse. Edward held me and pulled us both to the ground. He didn't say anything as he gently rocked me. He silently soothed me in this way until long after the sun had set and the moon was high. We'd been disturbed by one or two wolves, but after seeing and smelling us they moved on quickly.

He rubbed my shoulders gently before running his hands down the length of my arms. "Come on, let's go find Alice," he whispered. "I'm sure she's had time to process things now."

_What if she can't forgive me?_

He smiled. "She will...I know she will."

_I hope you are right._

We stood and walked slowly away from cliff. I turned around and watched the ocean as we left. We'd barely hit the edge of the wolves territory when Edward stopped. Alice came charging back toward us and didn't stop until she was right on top of us. I felt Edward stiffen beside me.

I didn't get an apology, or the chance to offer one before she spoke; four words that left me reeling.

"The Volturi are here."


	17. Chapter 16: Crime and Punishment

**Chapter 16: Crime and Punishment**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to my beta FE71SH for working the magic._

~ 0 ~

We had mere minutes to work out the best way to protect ourselves. It wasn't nearly enough time. Almost instantly, we realised what we couldn't do. We couldn't run and we couldn't try to deny my existence this time—I couldn't be the unknown Brunette any longer. Even now, Edward's words to Carlisle and Alice were playing through my head. _I didn't _just_ fall in love with Bella. I fell in love with her around thirty years ago. The last time we were in this town, in fact._

According to Alice, the Volturi were moments away from reaching the Cullen's house, and not just the outer guard—the leaders and their wives were there too. I didn't know what it meant, but one look at Alice's face told me it wasn't good. At the forefront of my thoughts was the fact that we wouldn't have time to do anything more than fix the collateral damage of Aro reading of me in Carlisle's thoughts. We couldn't fix things so that our family were permanently out of danger, at least not without risking the exposure of my power to Aro and his cronies. The only option we could see to live peacefully after the Volturi was to destroy them, but we wouldn't be able to do that—not without sustaining damages of our own, which was a risk none of us were willing to accept.

"What can we do?" Edward asked no-one in particular. I could tell he was listening to the thoughts of both Alice and I and watching changes in outcomes as we quickly discussed the options. He held my hand tightly, silently reminding me that whatever else happened, we were in it together; he wasn't leaving and neither would he allow me to leave. He rubbed his thumb gently along the back of my hand to confirm the direction of my thoughts.

"You two know the most dangerous information," I whispered. "I can shield you when we get there, at least that will stop him from learning the full extent of my power."

Alice shook her head slowly, and from Edward's reaction, I knew that the outcome was not one we would want.

"I can show you if you like," Alice said. "The way I used to," she added in a quiet whisper, her face showing an earnest desire to get back to what we had. Despite the circumstances, it warmed me a little, knowing that I might have my best friend back.

I shook my head. I had seen the look on Edward's face before— when he thought I was dead after Cain shot me. I knew that Alice had witnessed either my death or the death of one of our family. I didn't need to see that again.

"What if…" Edward mused.

I saw Alice's eye light up, and she nodded. "It could work..."

"But it's too risky," Edward said. "I can't…" His eyes cut to me and I could see the things he couldn't articulate. He couldn't risk losing me again. Despite his concern though, the almost feverish excitement In Alice's eyes told me that maybe, just maybe, his plan would work. I just needed to find out what it was.

~ 0 ~

I clung tightly to Edward's side, desperate to get as many touches in as possible before we arrived to face our doom. The plan was set. I just needed to gather the strength to complete my part of it—to remove all memories of me as soon as they were formed. Self-doubt bubbled away in my chest. I wasn't sure of my ability to control my power enough. The drain I would experience would be inextricable, but I reminded myself that if I were successful, the results would be worth it. At least it would mean that Aro would never know the potential of my talent and would never truly covert me for his coven.

We entered without knocking, and my eyes immediately searched the room for the greatest threats. I passed over the bored, listless one and the blonde with the too-keen eye. I knew exactly what Aro looked like from Alice's visions and Edward's memories, but nothing could prepare me for the palpable malice I could feel rolling off him. Every nuance he made echoed his threat, which stood in direct contrast to his looks. His skin looked paper-thin, as if a stiff wind might send his features crumbling like aging shale. In other circumstances, I might have doubted the threat he posed. Even with the knowledge I had, he looked so frail. _What risk was there that he would actually cause us harm?_ His eyes answered my unasked question; he was a formidable threat, if only for the loyalty of those that surrounded them.

As agreed earlier, I immediately pushed my shield out as far as I could and began reading the memories of all the guards. As my own insurance policy, I began searching for any little thing I could use to my advantage and tried to replicate the memories into my own psyche. I was glad of my near unlimited capacity for thought because I was drawing heavily on it.

Aro began to move toward Edward, but I stepped forward to draw his attention to me instead. I pulled my shield close again as I took another fateful step with my left hand practically glued to Edward's. I wordlessly closed the gap with Aro and offered him my right hand. A surprised murmur run through the assembled guard, but a single gesture stilled and silenced them.

As soon as our hands touched, his eyes narrowed. I held my shield as firmly around my mind as I could. He looked into my eyes and cocked his head in confusion. I felt his mind working the edges of my shield like fingers, testing for weaknesses. I felt probed and violated as he tried to work his way into my mind. As his talent continued to search for vulnerability, his eyes focused sharply on me as if attempting to bore a hole directly into my thoughts.

Then his eyes flickered to Edward momentarily. At the same time, Edward's fingers closed a little tighter around my hand; it was the agreed signal. Aro was going to move on to Edward to get the truth if I didn't satisfy him somehow. I wouldn't be able to shield Edward if that happened, it would be too dangerous for everyone. It would be admitting that we had something to hide.

I closed my eyes and pushed my shield toward Aro, feeling him the instant his mind penetrated my thoughts. I could feel his presence on and around everything that had ever happened to me. Every memory of Edward and I together became tainted with his filth. As he read he probed deeper I closed my eyes to stop myself from snapping my shield around his invasion.

I grew angrier with each passing fraction of a second. My memories responded to my frustration, fuelling me and pushing me toward revenge. In front of me was a source of terror that had torn my family apart for over a year. His ideals may once have been worth something, but over time, they had become corrupted with power. He was no longer a benevolent leader but a wicked dictator, and his time was over.

I no longer wanted to simply escape the encounter intact. Instead, I burned to have revenge for all the terrible acts I found in his memories. I wanted him to pay for what he wanted to do to us, for what he had done to so many others. All for his own personal gain. All for power.

There was one memory that played strongly in my mind, the one event that changed everything for Aro—the first time his cruel calculation destroyed something beautiful—and I had the potential to change it all again. I stole the memory from Aro, securing it deep in my own mind, before taking the most dangerous step possible.

Without thinking—and with Edward's voice screaming, "No!" somewhere behind me—I felt myself tumbling, falling through the expanse of time, falling back through Aro's memories. I ran through them swiftly, seeking the one I had seen which was the best chance we had for survival.

~ 0 ~

_I had no clue where I was. I had no clue really _when_ I was. All I knew was it was decorated in new and gleaming marble. It was opulent and spacious, full of light. I tried to place the architecture, but I had studied that discipline so little that it was meaningless to me. All I knew was it was reminiscent of Ben Hur and Julius Caesar would not have been out of place. In front of me was a low pool, baths of some description and the walls around me arched up and around to a form a high, wide dome._

_I heard quiet, but panicked, breaths coming from across the room. I followed the sound with my eyes and saw Aro leaning against the cool marble. His elegant clothing spoke of the money the Volturi already surrounded themselves with, even so long ago. He was younger, his skin less chalky, his face more handsome. His eyes were black and full of sorrow as he said what looked like a silent prayer to himself. I moved closer and strained to make out the words, and eventually I picked up the odd one carrying on his breath. "Please", "necessarily", and "unavoidable" were repeated regularly throughout his speech._

_I knew this was the right memory. This was the moment he steeled himself up enough to do the unspeakable—murder his sister. I looked around quickly, trying to get my bearings in the unfamiliar place. I tried to remember the way from the glance I had at the memory before I shifted. It was only a vague shadow of the knowledge I needed to save my family, but I hoped it would be enough._

_I ran through the twisted corridors that led away from the domed room. The corridors I wanted all lead to one place, to one person—to Didyme. I followed the landmarks I had seen in the memory, trying to force my feet to precisely follow his footsteps. I breathed a sigh of relief when I turned into a corridor which ended in a small room. I recognised it from Aro's memory, the room where his innocence lost the battle with his desire for power._

_I was shocked by the overwhelming feeling of joy that washed over me as I stepped into the room. I could tell it was an artificial emotion, but it was contagious. I studied the vampire who was radiating the emotion. She shared Aro's long dark hair and thin features, but hers were more feminine and pleasant. A long white dress fell plainly from her shoulders, but she didn't need adornments . I knew at once I had the right person, and that Aro had committed true, cold-blooded murder. No one would be able to maintain the rage required for a crime of passion around the utter happiness filling the room. As a defence mechanism, it should have protected her from all threats, but nothing would be able to stop a cold and calculating, power-hungry Aro._

_I didn't know what my next step would be, but I acted on instinct. I walked closer to the young vampire. She appeared to be uncertain about something. I wished I had Edward's talent so that I could know what was playing on her mind. If I could be sure it was concern for what her brother was about to do, I would be able to work it to my advantage. I decided to take the risk._

_I placed my hands on either side of her face, and concentrated on showing her Aro's memory of what was about to happen. Her eyes searched the room rapidly, not trusting the sudden images forming in her mind._

"_Who's there," she hissed softly, the sound barely escaping from between her teeth._

_I couldn't reply, so I showed her a memory that I hoped would help her to understand. She obviously knew about talents, so I hoped it wouldn't be too big a stretch for her to understand mine._

_~ 0 ~_

"_**Alice, how much do you know about my gift?"**_

"_**Just that it's like mine, but probably more accurate considering you see the past which can't change." She laughed her tinkling laugh.**_

"_**Well, it can and it can't."**_

"_**And here I thought Edward and I had the corner on talking in riddles."**_

"_**I changed two things yesterday. I caused them to happen yesterday but they have been the way they are now for years."**_

_**Alice's face twisted in concentration as she tried to work out my logic. "Like?"**_

"_**Well, last night I shifted into Edward's past. A couple of times but once in particular... he was at the hospital... dying." The word choked past my lips, the sight of Edward dying in hospital stealing my voice. "Carlisle gave him some pain relief and walked past him onto the next patient, leaving him to die."**_

"_**But Carlisle saved him."**_

_**I sighed. "It's so much easier to show it like I can with Edward, rather than telling you about it."**_

"_**Why don't you try showing me?"**_

"_**I don't know if that's..." I knew I was going to question whether I was able to show her or not.**_

"_**I think whatever you are thinking will work," Alice said, before cocking her head to the side, "but I can't see anything past you showing me the vision."**_

"_**That's because you'll have one doozy of a decision to make," I muttered. Then I continued, "I don't know how to do it properly, I haven't tried it out really."**_

"_**Give it a try," she said, "I know you'd never hurt me."**_

_~ 0 ~_

"_Who are you?" Didyme asked._

_Another memory; Edward saying my name._

"_Bella?" she whispered._

_A memory of my human driver's permit._

"_Born, and re-born, so far in the future…" she mused. "But why are you here?" Her voice remained as quiet as her first hissed word._

_I showed her Aro's memory again, and in her eyes, I saw her acceptance of the truth as I presented it. I showed her an image of Marcus from our house, bored and detached as if the life had been sucked out of him. I now realised his detachment was a result of the death of the beautiful and peaceful vampire before me. I showed her images of Edward telling me that he left for my benefit. Of me telling Edward I had left him for the same reason. I inundated her with images designed to show her that she needed to go, to run far away and stay away from Marcus for his own good, for hers, and ultimately for my family's. Finally, I showed her a place and a date to meet me. I hoped she trusted me, and her words after I had finished seemed to confirm she did. I had no doubt she had already suspected Aro of plotting something._

"_But how do I get away? He's got guards…they'll be able to track me," she whispered urgently, so quietly I almost couldn't hear her._

_I showed her the images from Aro's memory. He remembered killing her, and I owned that memory now. I could use it however I liked. I showed her how I had taken Edward's memories, and given them back. She seemed to understand the concept, but I had to be certain that she understood that in order to save her life—and possibly the lives of my family—she needed to run. She needed to stay hidden away. I showed her a place where she could hide, an island off the coast of Rio—Isle Esme. I knew the Volturi knew of it, but they gave it a wide berth as they still harboured enough respect for Carlisle to leave him in peace during his visits there. That and there were no local inhabitants to feed upon. She would be safe there._

_Safe but hungry. I briefly considered the issue that would cause for Didyme, but wondered whether she would be willing to try another way of life. I knew I had mere seconds to show her the alternative, so I quickly flickered through a number of my hunting trips, showing her it was possible to live another way. A look that seemed to be a mixture of revulsion and curiosity passed across her face.I showed her my memory of the ride from Port Angeles with Edward so many years ago._

"_**I can't be sure, of course, but I'd compare it to living on tofu and soy milk; we call ourselves vegetarians, our little inside joke. It doesn't completely satiate the hunger—or rather thirst. But it keeps us strong enough to resist. Most of the time."**_

_She stared at the empty space in front of her, before her eyes flicked to the door. I had heard the footsteps echoing behind me too. It was time. I couldn't show her anything more to convince her to run, and stay away. _

_I turned to greet the unwelcome intruder. Aro's face was set into a calm mask, but I could see the hint of terror and sadness behind his crimson eyes over what he was planning to do. He wanted it because he knew Marcus and Didyme would leave otherwise, but even he was afraid of the lengths he was prepared to go. At least, he used to be._

_His eyes quickly followed the path to where Didyme stood. I stepped away from Didyme and stripped away Aro's memory of seeing her in the room. In the brief instant that he was unaware of her presence, I called up the memory of the nurse's station after blood-typing, of Edward's words as he smelled the blood from Lee Stephen's wound. __**"Trust me—go."**_

_Didyme ran for the door and as she did, I offered up one last memory for her to take with her. A note with Edward's elegant script, '__**Be safe'**__._

_I had to trust that she knew secret ways out, and that she would be able to avoid being intercepted along the way. I hoped that if she was caught, her talent would ensure her survival. But I knew it was out of my hands now. I had no way of controlling what became of her next, but I had secured her escape from a cold-blooded murderer—from her own brother. _

_I continued to strip Aro's memory as he stared around the empty room. Once enough time had passed that I could replace his memory with the one I had obtained earlier, I pushed it into his mind, replacing it as his own. He blinked once, then again, before looking at his hands and fleeing from the room._

"_Marcus!" he cried as he ran—I was relieved when I realised his path took him in the opposite direction of Didyme's escape path. "Marcus, the Romanians…they have destroyed our precious Didyme! They have destroyed her, and stolen her ashes."_

_I felt revulsion over his lies seep into every part of my body._

~ 0 ~

I shifted back to my body to find Aro's eyes boring into mine. He shook his head in shock. "No," he whispered. "You can't know about that. No one knows about that."

He leapt for me, his hands outstretched for me, reaching for my throat. Even as he began to move, I felt Edward pull on my hand, tugging me backwards. Edward roared with anger as he positioned himself as my protector. Aro hissed in response, looking quickly to a small blonde girl nearby him. Her eyes turned to Edward, and then she cocked her head and smiled.

Edward stiffened suddenly, his whole body even more rigid than usual. I looked around briefly, uncertain what was happening. I put my hand onto his shoulder and he whimpered softly. He locked his jaw tightly, as if trying to stop himself from saying something he would regret. I couldn't see his face or what was causing his strange reaction.

Jane turned her smile on me. Edward slumped to the floor as she did. I bent down to see if he was all right. As I did, the look on Jane's face grew frustrated and she narrowed her eyes. Then she seemed to get bored with me.

Jane turned to look at Alice, just as Edward uttered a pained, "No". The blood-curdling scream that escaped from the little pixie's lips—and the shudder that ran through Edward at the sound—made it evident that whatever the blonde was doing, it was causing my family pain.

"No!" I growled and threw my shield out around me as far and fast as it would go. I wanted to stop the small girl from hurting my family.

"Stop," Edward whispered, grabbing my waist as I began to step toward the blonde. No doubt he could see the rage in my eyes, and read the thoughts of murder on my mind. "It does us no good to attack the Volturi. They are not the enemy." I could see his bigger concern easily in his eyes—they were too powerful.

"You're right," I said, my voice echoing throughout the room as I spoke clearly to ensure everyone heard. "They aren't." I levelled my finger at Aro. "He is."

Aro stared at me murderously for a brief moment, before laughing lightly. "You seem to be mistaken," he said, his voice dangerously calm, "I am merely the spokesperson for the group. We are an idea, an _ideal_ if you will. We exist to uphold the laws, and punish transgressors."

"And do we deserve to be punished?" I asked. "What is our crime?"

He laughed again, before shaking his head and smiling indulgently. "I had not said I was punishing _you_. Although it seems you have a guilty conscious. Perhaps there are deeds you have performed which are worthy of punishment?"

It was my turn to laugh. "You are accusing me, the one who has seen your darkest memories, of a harbouring a guilty conscious."

His smile slipped a little, before he caught it and it froze in place—as cold and dreadful as the rest of him.

"What did Didyme do that deserved punishment?" I broke free of Edward and advanced on Aro a little.

I watched as his eyes flicked sideways to Marcus. I knew I wasn't the only one who had seen the tiny movement. I could feel Marcus' eyes burning into me after I'd mentioned Didyme's name. He was instantly more animated than I had seen him in any of the guard's memories.

"Was wanting to break free and live in peace with Marcus a crime?" I asked.

Aro shook his head as his eyes darted from left to right. I knew he was going to be at his most dangerous now—a cornered animal.

"Then tell me," I demanded. "What crime did Didyme commit that warranted her murder?"

"Murder?" Marcus croaked. I thought he was going to write off my accusations as mere fantasy, but instead his eyes shifted to Aro and locked on him.

"_Murder?_" Aro choked out before laughing softly again. I was sure everyone in the room could tell that his laughter was off.

"You murdered her. Your own sister."

I heard Marcus's strangled cry as he stood and closed in on Aro, towering over him. "Murder!" he practically shouted.

Edward urgently grabbed my hand and pulled me back, the ranks of the Volturi were broken as if they sensed dissention amongst their leaders.

"Shield them all from her," Edward hissed quietly in my ear, pointing out a timid-looking woman hiding at the back of the fray. I did as he asked, but I wasn't sure how long I would be able to hold up. I was already beginning to feel lethargic, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my shield so scattered for too long.

I concentrated with all of my effort to block the others from the talent of the vampire Edward had pointed out—leaving her the only one in the room not under my shield. The harder I concentrated, the more I felt myself spinning out of control, my shield strained from being twisted and manipulated so much in such a short space of time.

I gasped once as I felt myself falling back through time once again—only this time I had no idea of my destination.

~ 0 ~

**A/N:- Sorry for the delay on this chapter—all the usual suspects are to blame, life, love and a touch of writers block. I will work as hard as I can to get the next one out as quickly as possible.**

**Thank you for sticking with me & supporting me. **

**I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy new year. **


	18. Chapter 17: Stranger

**Chapter 17: Stranger**

_A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words – I don't own it, I'm just playing). Please take the time to leave some words if you really loved it or really hated it! Thanks to FE71SH as usual._

~ 0 ~

"_Excuse me." _

_I heard a familiar voice trying to get the attention of whomever's memory I had fallen into. I turned to see Didyme looking through me with honey-coloured eyes. I felt the overwhelming feeling of joy wash over me again—with no doubt that it was the result of being in her vicinity—only now whoever was behind me reflected it back to her equally. I turned slowly and met Jasper's darkened eyes. As I took in his clothes, and hers, I realised where I was. Or more specifically _when _I was. It was long before Jasper had been able to leave Maria's clutches. Long before he found Alice, our family, or peace. _

"_Jasper," Didyme enthused. _

_I watched as Jasper's eyes narrowed in confusion. "How do you know me?"_

"_That's not important. What matters is that you are in a position to change your life."_

_He scoffed. "I'm not interested. I have Maria—"_

_Didyme cut him off. "Maria is using you. She will keep you around only as long as you are of benefit to her. Once you have ceased to be useful, once she has found a replacement, you too will be killed."_

"_No!" Jasper growled. "Maria loves me." _

_Didyme shook her head. "No. She does not. I know you would like to believe that she does, but I have experienced love. I have shared a love so deep that I had once thought it impossible to rival. But I _have_ seen its rival. _

"_I have seen a family, four matched pairs, connected by bonds so strong that nothing can break them. The eight of them find strength from one another. Not even the loss of all memories of one of their number could destroy their bonds."_

_Didyme's eyes shifted ever so slightly and she was looking _at _me, or at least at the spot she must have known I was standing. I knew she was passing information through to me as much as to Jasper._

"_I have to tell you this because you are the one member of this family whom Aro would not dare to touch. He has worked so hard to be cool and calculating, to ensure that his emotions do not come into his decisions, that he would not choose to experience the gambit of emotions he would have to endure through the smallest of your touches. _

"_But this is what you must do Jasper. To save your family, you must make him _feel_." _

"_I don't have a family…" he responded quietly._

"_You will. And they will be with you forever, if you follow my instructions."_

"_I have no idea what you are talking about."_

_Didyme smiled sympathetically. "I know. But please believe me. It will all make sense one day. One of your family members, the one you have forgotten, will need your help. I understand this is hard to accept, but you must. And please…be careful around Maria."_

_Jasper opened his mouth to argue, but Didyme held up one hand to stop him. "I have a message for you, from your sister. Trust your instincts and your gift. I know you felt an emotion today from me that you haven't ever felt from Maria. You know what that was." _

"_Love," Jasper mouthed. _

_Didyme nodded. She smiled once more and then she was gone. I felt the shift to indicate that I was heading back to the present. Only I had no fear about what it would contain any more. I knew what we needed to do now. _

~ 0 ~

"Edward," I gasped as I returned to my body.

"I saw," he whispered, grabbing my hand and spinning me around his body toward Jasper.

"Jasper!" I shouted. "I'm your sister; the one you have forgotten. It's time." I prepared the memory to share it with him, just in case it was necessary, but the recognition in his eyes told me that he knew what I meant. He had no doubt experienced his memory anew as I had witnessed it, and he would have felt my emotions as I watched. He nodded once before his eyes fell to Alice.

I ran through the divided guard with Jasper and Edward close by my side. A tiny girl in a sundress stood touching Aro's robes. I tightened my shield to surround myself and the two boys beside me, I hated leaving everyone else unprotected from attack, but I needed to concentrate. I couldn't risk falling back into another memory. I made a beeline for Marcus while Jasper and Edward fought his way toward Aro. There was a murmur of surprise amongst the Volturi ranks as I grabbed for Marcus's hand. He gasped and turned to me, ready to fight. I held up my other hand in what I hoped was perceived as a peaceful gesture and stepped closer to him.

"She survived," I whispered into his ear, so quietly it would have passed for an empty breath to any other listening ears. I showed him Jasper's memory. I almost cried when I heard his choked sob. His look was one of elation and grief combined. His face showed every emotion except the boredom which he had displayed so permanently earlier.

"Bella, drop your shield." I picked out Edward's voice easily amongst the crowd and complied immediately. I had no idea why he wanted me to stop shielding him, but I trusted his decision. I heard a sickening cry come from the other side of the room and swung around to look at the source, readying myself to leap into battle if I needed to. Instead, what I saw made my spirits leap. Edward and Jasper had Aro cornered. Edward had one hand on Jasper's shoulder and the other clasped Aro's hand while Jasper held Aro's forearm tightly. I couldn't see what was happening, but Aro cried out again and again; he whimpered and whined as he tried to back out of their grasp.

The fear that I'd felt because of him bubbled into rage. I felt tension rolling off Marcus in waves, and a quick glance confirmed what I had suspected; he had his attention focused on the same men as mine.

I ran over to Aro, with Marcus close behind me, but stopped short when I heard Edward's voice. "No, Bella, we have it under control."

"What are you doing?" Marcus demanded. "What have they done to him?" Something akin to fear crossed his features as he watched Aro cry out in agony again.

"They're making him feel…" I whispered as I watched the three of them. I could almost see the flow of energy. Jasper was doing what Didyme had asked. He was pouring every emotion he had ever felt into Aro. Edward was undoubtable lending his gift to magnify Jasper's. Between the two of them, they had bought Aro to his knees, forcing him to feel the hatred and pain that he had caused every person in the room. My months spent away from Edward, and the pain we had endured since our reunion, sprung to the forefront of my mind and suddenly Aro cried out again.

"What will you do with him?" Marcus asked quietly, his voice laced with pity and despair.

Jasper wrapped his arms tightly around Aro's waist, locking his arms into place so that Aro couldn't escape—not that he was able to even try with the barrage of emotions he was encountering.

Edward turned to Marcus. "That will be your decision."

I nodded, confirming to Edward that I would support his choice.

"It's up to you and Didyme to choose his destiny, but it will also be your responsibility to ensure he is kept under control."

"You just want the power of the Volturi for your own," Caius hissed as he stormed toward us, I hadn't realised that the fighting was beginning to falter all around us.

Carlisle laid his hand on Caius' shoulder. "We don't want anything more than peace for our family. We have members who are coveted for their abilities, we want nothing more than assurance they will be left alone."

Jasper passed Aro on to Felix at Marcus' command, before stepping toward Edward.

Slowly the four couples that made up my family stepped together. Each had one hand linked with their partner; my own was wound tightly around Edward's. We wouldn't be separated so easily again.

~ 0 ~

**- EPOV - **

I knew what I had to do as soon as I saw Jasper's memory through Bella. Even before she had cried out to him that she was the one he had forgotten, I had known where I needed to be. I just hoped Bella's shield would work to get Jasper and I close enough. I didn't need to see if Jasper was willing to follow Bella's plan, as soon as the words left her mouth, he knew precisely what she meant and what he needed to do. He had not spent time agonizing over Didyme's words, but neither had he forgotten them.

Jasper immediately began to catalogue a series of the painful emotions he had experienced over his many years. I knew he was going to inflict all the hurt he had felt over the years back on Aro. As he pulled the pain to the surface, I felt it all through his thoughts. It would have been too much for me to handle had I not experienced the sharp sting of saying goodbye to Bella or the slow, twisting agony of being apart from her.

We ran straight for Aro, his eyes and thoughts filled with confidence that his personal shield would protect him. As we closed in I said a silent prayer that Bella's ability to shield from mental talents would be enough to break through the line and reach Aro. A look of fear crossed the face of the vampire who was lending her talents to protect him, the one with the ability to physically shield others, and I knew my Bella had done it. Without even realising what she had done, Bella had allowed us to force our way to Aro, something no one else had ever done.

I touched Aro, preparing to help reinforce Jasper's talent, but there was no reaction. Aro wasn't sure what I was doing, because he couldn't read my mind. Bella's shield was still up. I called out to her, asking her to drop it away from Jasper and I. Suddenly, Aro cried out.

If it were not for my experiences with dealing with anguish, it would have been harder to concentrate on helping double the emotions Jasper was creating. I focused all my energy on drawing in each feeling, holding onto the painful thoughts before passing them onto Aro via his talent. Each emotion twisted sickeningly through Aro, who was unused to feeling anything. The magnification caused by Jasper's and my touch was unbearable for him. The barrier he had built between his thoughts and his emotions shattered as he cried out loudly again. The horrific sounds issuing from him were nothing compared to the anguish flooding through his mind.

I saw Bella and Marcus coming closer to Aro, but I couldn't risk Bella's plan unravelling now. I had seen enough the visions that had been assaulting Alice since Bella had corrected the course of history. Didyme was alive and waiting for Marcus; together they would form the head of a new, more peaceful Volturi. If I allowed Bella to bring Marcus any closer to Aro—who was a dangerous, cornered animal—it could change the future.

"No, Bella," I murmured to her through gritted teeth. "We have it under control."

"What are you doing?" Marcus demanded, his anger and fear evident in his thoughts. I tried to block it out, but it was just one more emotion adding to the load I already suffered. My head and heart ached as I continued to help Jasper pummel Aro with emotions, feeling the toll of each one myself. Aro cried out as he experienced his Marcus' pain though me. "What have they done to him?"

"They're making him feel…" Bella whispered awed. She had her shield extended still, stretched and taxed to almost breaking point, making it easy for me to read every thought and emotion she was experiencing. I wanted to confirm her suspicions, but I couldn't speak anymore with the weight of the emotions crushing me. Jasper was just as strained, struggling to hold the emotions in. I knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer without sending out a wave of despair, hatred and anger strong enough to crush the spirits of everyone in the house.

Bella began to think about the pain she and I had endured because of Aro's greed and the danger he had posed to us. Aro cried out again when I was unable to filter her pain from my thoughts.

"What will you do with him?" Marcus asked quietly. He hadn't had time to process the fact that Aro had plotted Didyme's death, or the fact that miraculously Didyme was still alive. Instead of anger and sorry, he felt compassion toward the one he had considered his brother.

When I knew Aro was subdued enough that Jasper would be able to handle him alone, I touched Jasper's arm lightly to tell him to take over. He wrapped his arms around Aro's waist, locking Aro in place so that he couldn't escape.

I turned to Marcus. "That will be your decision."

My eyes fell to Bella, and she nodded her support. We had been through so much, and had so much more ahead of us.

"It's up to you and Didyme to choose his destiny," I continued. "But it will also be your responsibility to ensure he is kept under control." I had already seen most of the alternatives for Aro and knew one thing for certain, he was unlikely to be a threat to us in the future.

I turned my complete attention to Bella, no longer concerned about the threat of the Volturi. With Aro incapacitated, they were not a threat to us. We had done nothing wrong. In fact, Bella had done something so, so right and Marcus would realise how much he owed her soon.

There was a constant buzz of thoughts and voices around me, but I was able to tune it all out to concentrate on the one thing that was important to me. I took her hand in mine and held it tightly. She squeezed my fingers in return. Slowly, my family gathered around us, each of them determined to protect both me and my 'brunette saviour'. I stepped closer to Bella and read the reaction from my family. Without fail, everyone of them wanted to know more about Bella, but trusted her implicitly. They knew she was good for me.

"There's just one thing left to do," murmured Alice. "Reintroduce Marcus and his mate."

"Two things," Bella countered.

Alice scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"I need to go back into Didyme's memory and tell her everything that happened," Bella whispered, dropping her voice low enough that only Alice, Jasper and I could hear. I knew Jasper was confused by the statement, but he held himself together well.

Alice shook her head slightly. "Your talent is confusing, you know that?"

Bella laughed, and the sound was so wonderful. "I know."

~ 0 ~

The reunion of two lovers is a sight that is wondrous to behold. I could still remember the feelings that flooded through me when I reunited with Bella—both the first time in Fairfield when I saw her in the classroom but also when I had my memories returned more recently. Yet for all the heartache and subsequent joy we had felt, I wouldn't have been able to even begin to imagine how Marcus felt while he waited for Didyme's arrival if it wasn't for my gift. He had been apart from his love for thousands of years. He didn't know what had changed in the intervening time. He only knew that _he_ hadn't loved again, that he'd barely even lived without her.

I felt and understood every part of his apprehension. Would they both still feel the same as they had? Would things have changed between them? I wanted to ease his suffering, but I already knew nothing I said could change his thoughts.

I smiled as I heard Bella approaching with Didyme, whose thoughts echoed Marcus' perfectly. I could have told them what would come in the future, what Alice had seen repeatedly since the battle in our house a few hours earlier, but anything I said would have been nothing more than words to them. With the emotions coursing through their bodies, words were rendered meaningless.

I would have told Marcus that the girls were close, but he already knew. I could hear in his thoughts that he had recognised the shift in the atmosphere. He could feel the thrumming of electricity that happened when one body recognised another and two souls communicated silently.

When Didyme finally came into view, nothing could have held Marcus back. He ran toward his love at full speed and she broke into a run almost simultaneously. When they came together, there were no obvious grand gestures of love. There was no long, linger kisses or instant smashing together of bodies. In that first instant, there was little more than a shared smile and prolonged eye contact, and yet I felt like I was intruding on an incredibly intimate moment by watching. I turned away quickly, leaving them to rediscover one another.

I found my eye wondering to Bella, who was watching me in return. Her face broke into a wide smile as she confirmed what I had suspected; Didyme had long been anticipating this reunion. She had even come to this precise location numerous times to relive the memory of their reunion even before it had happened.

"You know what you need to share with her?" I asked quietly.

Bella nodded. "She's shown me everything that happened to her up until this point. I just need to show them to her past self."

I felt a little bit sorry about the life Didyme had led. Because of what Bella would soon go back into the past and tell her, she knew exactly what would happen in her future. I knew from Alice's experiences that knowing the future wasn't always a good thing, it took the surprise out of life. But everything had worked out so well, we didn't want to risk changing a single thing.

It meant that Didyme had always known she would be reunited with her love, and she had known the exact date. I could barely begin to comprehend how hard it must have been for her to force herself to stay away from her true love for so long, but seeing the joy in their reunion and hearing the relief in her thoughts that they were safe and together again—forever this time—made it easier to understand. After all, I had stayed away from Bella for seven years to try to guarantee her safety—and would have done so for longer if it was necessary—and Bella had wiped my memory for the same reason. Both were decisions made in haste, decisions we might take back if we could, and yet both decisions had left us exactly where we were, together and happy, with the knowledge of the certainty of our love and the safety of each other.

Bella and I clutched each other's hands as we moved away from Didyme and Marcus, leaving the lovers alone for their reunion. They knew where to find us when they were ready, but we had some catching up of our own to do before we headed to Italy. Bella had volunteered her services to Marcus' new administration in return for anonymity and peace for our whole family. During our two week stay at the castle, she was due to wipe the memories of all of the guards who either chose to leave or could no longer be trusted. It was all part of Marcus' new strategy, to rehabilitate rather than kill wayward vampires. There would still be death if no other action could be taken, but it wouldn't be used as a means to collect talents as it had been under Aro's watch.

Aro was the first vampire to undergo Marcus' regime. He had his memories stripped and was offered second chance. No one was foolish enough to believe it would stop him from becoming power hungry again, and we all knew that it wouldn't remove his talent, but he no longer remembered leading the Volturi or plotting the murder of his sister. He was a blank slate, ready to be rewritten. It was his choice about the direction of his new life. The one thing that gave us the greatest hope was that the emotions Jasper and I had subjected him to had opened up something inside him and now he _felt_. No one could say with certainty what he would do in the future, but Alice wasn't concerned, so we held no fears for the safety of our family.

Once we were alone again, I bent down to Bella and kissed her softly.

"What was that for?" she asked sweetly.

"For everything," I murmured. "Because that's what you are to me."

~ 0 ~

**A/N: I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who supported me through Teacher's Pet, Student Liaison & Life's Lesson. Through these fics, I have met so many wonderful people, many of whom are now intergrated into my life so firmly that it's hard to imagine how things were before they came along. **

**There may be an epilogue to follow at some stage, but I am happy with wh****ere this has ended. Multiple attempts to continue past this point in the story have resulted in the characters revolting on me again and again****, so I will take their h****int and leave them alone to enjoy each other.**

**I wish I had something more eloquent to say as a final farewell to these two characters who I've put through so much (and who've put me through so much in return) but I don't so I will simply say goodbye and enjoy your forever together ;) **


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